The First Run
by TheKnittingLady
Summary: JJ and Henry are trapped. Can Will, Spencer and Derek find the help they need to set them free? - Rated M for possible language
1. Chapter 01

**_Part 1 – The Beginning_**

_Let me be very clear: We monitor the risks of violent extremism taking root here in the United States. We don't have the luxury of focusing our efforts on one group; we must protect the country from terrorism whether foreign or homegrown, and regardless of the ideology that motivates its violence._

_- Janet Napolitano_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Monday, November 20, 2017**

* * *

As much as he would never admit it out loud, some days Spencer Reid was kind of almost a little glad that his mother was the way she was.

It was late November, just before Thanksgiving, and the BAU team was on a break. Hotch was in New York with Beth and Jack and his recently paroled brother. Morgan was in Chicago with his family. Alex was in Boston with her husband. Garcia had flown out to California for a reunion with some of her cousins. JJ and Henry had gone down to Louisiana to visit with Will's family while they waited for Will, stuck at a training conference in Seattle, to join them. And Rossi had taken the opportunity to schedule a small book tour, which was taking him through New England at the height of leaf season.

Unfortunately for all of them they all decided to leave early, which was why they were all out of town when the forecasters predicted that everything from the upper Northwest to the Eastern Seaboard was going to be getting a blizzard's worth of snow over the next few days. There was a very good chance that airports across the country were going to be closed for the better part of a week. Being stuck anywhere but home was not something to be enjoyed, so when Spencer called his mother only to find her lucid enough to understand the weather and paranoid enough to tell him to stay home and plan to visit another time, he did not complain.

Now he came in from his last set of errands, and looked around his small apartment with pleasure.

He had it well stocked for the coming storm. He had food he could heat at the fire, should the power go, and ample treats and snacks. He had everything he needed for an emergency, water and batteries and what he needed for the fire. He had several bags of books to read, and he had extra power for his tablet, which would provide him everything from music to movies to Dr. Who. He even had a new set of flannel pajamas. He was all set to curl up and spend the holiday relaxing as much as physically possible. The only thing missing was someone to enjoy it with. Maybe someday, he thought, maybe even next year. Maeve would be furious if I lost hope.

Just as he put his packages down his phone rang. "Dr. Reid." There was silence on the other end of the line. No, not silence, the sound of someone breathing. "Hello?"

Finally a voice spoke. "Son, I'm sorry."

What the hell? "Dad?"

"I…it was a mistake, and I'm…I didn't know…." His father's voice sounded near tears.

"Dad, it's all right." Spencer said. "Just tell me what happened. We can fix…"

"No. It's too late. I just…if I had known I never would have…I'm sorry."

"Dad…"

"I moved your mother." His father said

Up until now Spencer had been concerned. He had never had the best relationship with William Reid, but he was still his father after all and his mother still loved him so he was at least willing to help. But when his father said that his mother was involved with whatever this was Spencer felt a chill go right up his spine, followed by a hot rush of blood to his head. "You what!?"

"I had to. I'm sorry."

"Dad she's been at Bennington for years! She's been stable there! She's comfortable there!"

"I know. I know."

"Where did you take her?"

"Seaside Ridge in Sebastopol, California. She'll be a lot safer there."

Spencer relaxed slightly. Seaside Ridge was a very nice place, as good as Bennington. It had been one of the top three on his list back when he was looking for a place for her originally. At least she was in a safe, well-managed place that could ensure her continuity of care. But moving her at all was risky and potentially damaging, especially when there was no need. "That's a good choice. But why did you do this Dad?"

"It's not safe in Vegas. Or it's not going to be safe in Vegas"

"Why not?" A thought came to him. "Dad, where are you?"

"Carson City. I have to go son. I'm sorry." The phone clicked off.

"Hello? Hello! Damn it!" Spencer threw himself on the couch in his fury. Everything was going so well, what the hell was his father thinking? And why wasn't Vegas safe?

No, first priority, make sure Mom was okay. Fly out and check on her. Then he could go to Carson City and tell his father off in person.

Spencer got up and went to clean out his fridge to give to his neighbors. There went the vacation.


	2. Chapter 02

**Chapter 02**

******Monday, November 20, 2017**

* * *

"Your Uncle Steve is here." JJ said into her phone. "Please tell me you'll be here by morning."

She winced as she heard her husband sigh into his phone. "I'm trying chère." He said. "But everyone is trying to get out of here before this storm from the looks of it. I swear people look like they are moving out of town."

"I know. I just don't like how he and Aunt Doris act around Henry. And your whole family lets it go."

"Well, they believe in the whole 'spare the rod, spoil the child thing' from the Bible."

"I don't care Will. You don't have to beat your children to be a good Christian, you know that. Their parenting philosophy is what turns normal children into people we have to hunt later."

"And they'll say they raised a half dozen successful boys that way."

"And I'll point to a half-dozen Unsubs raised the same way. When it's their boys it's their right but Henry is our son and they have no right to even speak to him about discipline. Whatever he does I can handle it, I do not need your uncle scaring the crap out of him by threatening to spank him just because you're not here."

"I know. I know. Want me to call him up and lay down the law?"

"Please." JJ sighed. Why did she come down here again? Right, because Will's family had been pressuring them for months about it. "You shouldn't have to, you know, they should listen to me."

"I know, but they don't believe in taking orders from women."

"I know. I can order around Generals at the Pentagon and major news organizations and every cop in the country but I can't get my in-laws to lay off my kid." She sighed again. "If you're not here by tomorrow…"

"If I'm not going to make it by tomorrow I'll call and let you know. You should be able to fly back to DC before the storm." JJ could hear the gentle smile in his voice, that sound she adored. "'Least you'll only have to deal with them for one day."

"One day." She could endure one day. "I love you, you know."

"I love you too chère, more than I have words for. You take care of both of you."

They spoke for a few minutes more, soft lover things, before his flight was called and Will had to go. JJ hung up the phone with a sense of foreboding. It's nothing, she thought, it's just a storm. And I only have to deal with my in-laws for one day. She stepped over to the bed and tucked the covers under Henry's chin pressing a kiss to his temple. One day and then we'll be home again.

* * *

It was the last visit that Derek Morgan ever expected.

Late one night as his Mom was putting the house to bed there was a knock at the door. "Who could that be at this hour?" She asked as she went to see who it was.

"Let me get it Momma." Morgan said. Something this late had a greater chance of being trouble, better it meet him than his family. And when he saw who it was he knew it had to be some kind of trouble. "Gordinski." He said as he opened the door. "What's going on?"

Before he even opened his mouth Morgan knew that something was up. Gordinski was acting nervous. No, more than that, he was acting afraid; looking over his shoulder like someone might be watching them. "You need to go." He said.

"Excuse me?"

"Look, I came here because I owe you one, all right? Because of everything that happened. You just need to go; it's not going to be safe for your family here."

"What do you mean? Why not?"

"Because of whom your father was."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, just go, all right! Pack up your family, all of them, and get out of town. Head up to Canada."

"Canada? Why?"

"Because it's not going to be safe here! I don't want your family to be hurt. Just…if they have passports get them in the car and head for Toronto. If you leave in the morning you can get there tomorrow. You should be safe there, at least for now."

Gordinski may have lost his shit, Morgan thought, but he was serious about it. He was scared. This warning might not make a lot of sense but it was real. "And if we don't have passports?" Hell, his was back in his drawer in DC

"Head for one of the cities. Not here, they know you here. They knew your dad and all that. Head for New York or LA, or maybe San Francisco, those would be the best."

"Not DC?"

Gordinski shook his head. "DC is top of the list. No, get to a city and disappear, all of you but especially your Mom. Go tomorrow, there won't be much time."

"Gordinski what the hell is going on?"

"I…can't. I gotta go. Good luck, it's been nice knowing you."

Morgan watched the older cop leave and then scanned the street. Nothing. Not even a cat moving. He ducked back in the house and closed the door. "I heard." His mother said. "What should we do?"

"I don't know. Gordinski was sincere, I know that much. Something has him well and truly spooked." He looked down and saw that he had his phone out. He was about to call Garcia, he realized, but she was off at a party, not some place where she could help.

"Maybe we should listen to him." His mother said. "I didn't want to say anything but…"

Uh oh. "But what Momma? What's been going on?"

"Nothing. At least nothing I can put my finger on but something has just been off lately. People are acting strange around me. I don't know, less friendly than they used to be. I just chalked it up to hard times but…."

No passports. They weren't going to get to Canada. But… "Call Aunt Shirell and Uncle Rodger." They lived in Oakland; it was still fairly early out there. "Tell them about it and see if we can come visit. I'll call Sarah and Desiree and tell them what happened, see what they want to do, and then I'll see about getting us tickets for tomorrow."

"All right."

Strange, Morgan thought. But better safe than sorry.


	3. Chapter 03

**Chapter 03**

******Tuesday, November 21, 2017**

* * *

"Spencer!"

Spencer smiled as he approached his mother. Only she could sit in a lush, California garden and look so fretful. "Hi Mom." He hugged her gently and sat next to her on the bench. "How are you?"

"Confused. I don't know what your father is up to. I don't even know where I am for certain."

"You're at a hospital called Seaside Ridge in Sebastopol, California. It's a very good place. I actually considered it back when I was looking at places because it's smaller and has a little bit nicer facility, but I thought you'd be more comfortable back in Vegas. The care here is excellent though and Dr. Delgado comes highly recommended."

"Good, good. I'm glad you approve because the people here have been wonderful. No one has whispered anything about demons since I got here."

"I'm glad." That had been his mother's latest delusion. She believed the staff was conspiring to kill her and the other patients because they were possessed. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Your father came in just before bedtime, he barged his way into my room and he said I had to go. He said he was sorry, that he'd made a terrible mistake and he just needed to get me to someplace safe. Those were his words, someplace safe. He started throwing my things into my bags, just randomly, not giving me any time to sort through anything."

"And the staff didn't stop him?"

"That's when it got very strange. The head nurse came in and started talking to him like she knew him. She called him by his first name even. They went off to talk at the nurses' office and I followed them and….oh Spencer this is going to sound crazy..."

"It's all right Mom."

She stopped and started and stopped again. "I swear I saw a gun under your father's jacket."

"Dad?" If there was one thing Spencer knew about William Reid it was that he was a singularly non-violent man. He had never performed a violent act in his life. But sometimes his mother's delusions were rooted in reality, it wasn't impossible. "Then what happened?"

"Well I was so upset I returned to my room where I thought it was safe. I didn't know what else to do. He came back with my file…"

"Your medical file?"

"Yes. He told me to go get dressed for a long car trip. When I got out of the bathroom he gathered up what he had packed and literally dragged me out of there. We got in his car and drove forever; I slept part of the way. He brought me here and just left me on the doorstep with all my bags and my file and this other bag, very heavy. The staff brought me in and looked through the file and the bag he left and assigned me a room. They said they would do an assessment today and get in touch with Dr. Norman."

"Did they?"

Diana nodded, "As far as I know. We had an assessment right after breakfast and then art therapy and some exercise thing. Oh, I mean some of it is so bothersome, really. But one of the staff went out and replaced what we forgot and they've brought my medication on time, and the food has been excellent so it's not all that bad. It's just change, I hate change. I just wish I knew what your father was doing."

"I know, I'm sorry. I wish I knew what he was doing too." Spencer patted his mother's hand. "I'm going to go talk to Dr. Delgado and see what she can tell me. I might have to go after Dad right away…"

"Or go back to DC right away, I'm sure." She gathered him into a hug. "You're a good son, you know. Thank you for coming all this way to check on me."

"Of course, Mom. I'll try to come back before I head home."

"Good. Good. I love you, you know."

"I love you too."

He left her then, somewhat reassured that she was safe for the time being, and went to find Dr. Delgado. Thankfully she was in her office. The secretary introduced him. "Dr. Delgado?" Spencer asked. "I'm sorry to intrude; I didn't have time to make an appointment."

"Dr. Reid. No, it's a pleasure. Please come in, I'm just happy to see a family member."

"Um, I have my mother's power of attorney. My father wasn't authorized to take her out of Bennington, let alone take her to another facility."

"But he did. At least he brought her records with her. And he paid her co-pay in advance."

"At least there's that. I'll be covering it for the future, how much…."

"No, Dr. Reid. He covered it for a while." Dr. Delgado reached down and hauled a small duffle bag up on her desk. It hit with a heavy metal clank. "I honestly don't know what to do with it." She opened the bag and gestured for him to look.

The bag was full of gold. Stamped rounds of gold.

Spencer was shocked. "How…how much…."

"I haven't wanted to touch it to count it and I haven't been able to get the Sheriff out here to take a look at it. It weighs in at eighty pounds."

Eighty pounds? Spencer's mind spun. He knew from Garcia's background check, back when they were investigating the Riley Jenkins case, that his father lived a very frugal life for an attorney. He drove an old beater, had no hobbies and lived in a shabby apartment in a mediocre part of town. His only major expense was vet costs for his cat. This could easily represent his life savings. "At the current price per ounce that's roughly one-point-five million dollars."

"Which ought to cover her for…" Dr. Delgado needed her calculator to run the numbers. "Ten years."

Spencer was shocked. What the hell was going on? "I guess he wanted her cared for. Did he leave a note?"

"He did." She pulled it from Diana's file and handed it to him. "'Please look after my wife. This should cover her expenses. Thank you.' That's it, it's not very helpful. Now we will gladly help with your mother as soon as you sign off on the paperwork, unless you'd rather take her back to Bennington."

Spencer considered this. On the one hand Bennington was a familiar environment, a known quantity. On the other hand Seaside Ridge was also safe, and his mother seemed almost more comfortable here. And something had to be going on with Dad; he had always been very cautious and never showed any sign of delusional behavior before. "I think I should try to figure out what's going on back in Las Vegas before I move her back there."

"Try the whole state. I've had three other patients dumped here since yesterday, all from Nevada."

"What?"

"Yeah, I don't get it either. And we are not the only facility in the state where that's happening. It started the day before yesterday, all up and down the state, patients who clearly can't care for themselves being dumped by family, mostly with the clothes on their backs. We haven't been able to get records for the others here, neither have most of the other facilities. Up until this morning all we got was voicemail."

"What happened this morning?"

"Our phone lines are out. So's the internet."

"What about cell phones?"

"They're down too."

"Anything on the news?"

"Cable is out. And we're not getting anything but canned music on the radios. Someone must have taken down the wrong pole somewhere. I'm just glad the power is still up."

Spencer frowned and pulled out his phone. He had turned it off when he got on his flight several hours ago and had been so preoccupied he had never turned it back on. Now there were a dozen text messages waiting for him, nearly all from the same number. "Looks like text messaging is still working. That's on a different system."

"It's been on and off today." Dr. Delgado said.

"I'm sorry, I…"

"Go ahead. I'll get the paperwork ready to sign."

Spencer turned to his keypad. _Garcia?_

A moment later the text came back. _Go 2 BAU right now 911!_

911! was Garcia text for a serious emergency. _I'm not in DC. I'm in Sebastopol north of San Francisco. Long story_

_OMG Meet me Fed Bldg in SF. ETA 45 min 911!_

"Dr Delgado, how long is the drive from here to downtown San Francisco?"

"About an hour and fifteen."

He turned back to his keypad. _On my way ETA 90 min._

_Meet Coffee Smith, corner Larkin & GG Ave_

_Ok. What's going on?_

He didn't get a reply.


	4. Chapter 04

**Chapter 04**

******Tuesday, November 21, 2017**

* * *

The drive from Sebastopol to the FBI headquarters in San Francisco took Spencer over the Golden Gate. This meant two things. One, that he was stuck in traffic and two, that he was stuck in traffic with the most amazing view ever.

It was a gorgeous crisp fall day, the sky was a perfect blue dotted with tiny white clouds, the sea was the color of turquoise you saw in the movies, and the recently painted bridge practically vibrated orange against the two. They had offered him an upgrade to a convertible when he rented his car and now he had an ideal view of the show going on below him. It was fleet week or something, the bay and outer reaches were packed with navy ships right out to the Farallon Islands. As he watched some kind of carrier cruised serenely under the Golden Gate and then three large helicopters took off and headed inland. It was quite the impressive display. Heck, most of the traffic was probably people slowing down to watch.

Once over the bridge he tuned into the traffic station. It seemed like a normal day in the city but the automated traffic station said that several blocks around the Civic Center were currently closed to vehicle traffic, and there were detours. Rather than being caught in the mess he pulled over at the first gas station he saw for an old-fashioned map. The hard part was navigating through the line waiting to fill up. "You want to gas up now." An old, obviously homeless man sitting on the sidewalk said as Spencer went by. "Change is a-coming! Change is a-coming!"

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked him.

The man said nothing. He just pointed to another flock of helicopters heading inland from the bay.

It was weird. Everything felt off today, it was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Better safe, he thought, and pulled into the line.

Once his tank was full he went in to pay and get a map. "Where can I park around the Civic Center?" He asked the clerk. The clerk understood more English than he spoke, he pointed out a few parking areas far enough away to be out of whatever mess was down there. "Thanks." It was then that he spotted something across the street. "Can I park here while I run to the bank?" That was allowable. He ran over and found that with the internet down only limited cash was available from the ATM's, or so said the sign on the door. He quickly maxed out his withdrawal limit, and then went back to the market and bought some snacks and water. Now food, water, fuel, cash, and his badge and his gun, he could probably handle any crisis that came up.

He headed into the fray and finally found a small lot on a back street a good half mile from where he needed to be that only wanted a small fortune to let him park for the rest of the day. The area seemed crowded with pedestrians, overflowing the sidewalks to the point where traffic must have been blocked somehow. The closer he got the worse it got until he finally turned the corner onto Golden Gate Avenue. Then he saw something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

The plaza in front of the Phillip Burton Federal Building had, since the Oklahoma City bombing, been turned into a truck-bomb proof fortress. It had been fitted with concrete planters that doubled as barricades and explosion deflectors and metal pylons designed to prevent anything larger than a bicycle from driving up to the entrance.

None of that had mattered to the tank that was currently parked in front of the doors.

After a moment his brain kicked back into gear and began picking up on the details. It was a German tank, a Leopard 2 design, painted bright white and labeled UN in large, black letters. A number of smaller vehicles parked around the area were also painted and labeled as such. And the uniformed people with the large rifles were wearing bright blue UN helmets even though their uniforms bore German military insignias. From the way they were laid out and the stream of people leaving the building it was clear that they were protecting and evacuating the Federal Building.

After staring in befuddlement for several moments Spencer turned and made his way to the coffee shop. He had to knife his way through the crowd to get there, trying not to step on the people who were sitting on the sidewalk out front staring at their electronic devices. Once inside he could barely move for having to push past people, but the place was eerily quiet.

"Reid!"

The last thing expected was to have someone quietly call his name, let alone this someone. "Morgan." He said, walking up to the man standing in a line. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Chicago." He asked, triggering a number of people to hiss at him to be quiet.

"I was." Morgan said. "I flew out here with my family this morning. Long story. Garcia's in the back, go join her, I'll get what I can here."

"Okay." Spencer went back to knifing through the crowd. Before he could a murmur went up as people went back to talking. Garcia was in the far back corner, having ensconced herself at the largest booth. She'd spread her customized gear out around her and was closely monitoring something. "Is the net back up?" He asked as he slid in beside her.

"Oh god! There you are! Come here!" She said as she pulled him into a hug. "Not the net-net but there is a localized intranet up and running and there is a bulletin board going. Everyone has been sharing intel as it comes in, not that there is nearly enough."

"Everyone?"

"Yeah, everyone." She gestured to the coffee shop and the crowd outside it. "Everyone. The community. Oh honey, this is San Francisco, it's all family here. You came down from Sebastopol; did you see anything on the way?"

"Other than the fleet coming in to the bay?"

"So you saw the fleet? Okay, don't make me get Morgan to do a cognitive here, give me all the details." As Spencer rattled off what he had seen on the drive down Garcia dutifully typed it in and then posted it to the city board. A murmur went up from the crowd as they absorbed the new information. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"My Dad pulled my Mom out of Bennington and moved her to a hospital up in Sebastopol." Spencer said. "He kept apologizing to everyone although he didn't say why. And he left a giant bag of gold for her care. What are you doing here?"

"Okay that is creepy." Garcia said. They looked over as Morgan brought large coffees and bags of food. "I was here in the city doing the whole high school reunion thing. Do not look at me funny, when you go to boarding school it is a thing. But that means that on top of everything else I am fighting off a hangover. Ugh, this coffee is medicinal."

"Gordinski came to the house the other night." Morgan said. "He said he owed me so he was warning me to get my family out of Chicago while I still could. He said Canada was a good first choice but if that didn't work then New York or out here. The man was serious so we took his advice and came out to Oakland to visit my aunt and uncle for the holiday. We were setting up for lunch when I got the text."

"I heard from one of my high school peeps that we were being invaded, like literally invaded, so I came down here to see if I could get premium access and found that thing driving down the street." Garcia said as she waved at the tank. "So I came and camped out in here which has become info central, and here I am still."

"Have you heard from anyone else?" Spencer asked.

"Will, just as you were coming in. There is, like, actual fighting going on north of Seattle. Apparently we're also being invaded by Canada. I didn't even know they had a military. No one is flying at all, period, all the airports are shut down, and so he is renting a car and heading this way. When we're ready to move here we're going to go pick up my stuff at the inn and go back to Morgan's family."

"My Aunt and Uncle have been investing in property." Morgan said. "They have a few empty houses on the block; they said we could use them if we needed them." He looked over at Garcia, "Looks like we're going to be roomies for a while."

"That could be worse." Spencer said.

All of a sudden a sharp whistle pierced the crowd. "Quiet everyone!" Someone called from the counter. "The Governor is coming on the radio."

Everyone in earshot came in to listen.


	5. Chapter 05

**Chapter 05**

******Tuesday, November 21, 2017**

* * *

"My fellow Californians," The Governor said. "I will begin with the most pressing matter before us. As many of you have noticed international troops operating under the auspices of the United Nations are currently patrolling our streets and harbors. They are not, I repeat, are not an invasion force. These troops are here at the express invitation of myself and the other western governors to maintain order and security through a difficult time in our nation's history. I ask that you give them your full cooperation over the next few days as events are resolved just as you would any of our local, state and even national first responders. They have asked us to put in place a number of regulations designed to make it easier for them to do their work which they will present after my remarks. These regulations should be in place for roughly two weeks.

"If it's any help, think of it as an earthquake. The earthquake has not stuck our lands, our buildings and our infrastructure, but it has crippled our political and social systems, with the same swift and devastating results. However as Californians have since the great quake of '06 we will weather the emergency as a community and emerge stronger than ever before.

The Governor paused briefly. "At approximately 1am Pacific time this morning the governors and state legislatures of thirty-six states met and voted unanimously to vacate the Constitution of the United States of America and secede from the union. Immediately thereafter the governors and state legislatures agreed to create a new nation, one they now call the New American Republic, and to place executive power into the hands of what they are calling the Brethren Counsel. The Brethren Counsel immediately declared war on the remaining states, including California, and on the Federal infrastructure. This declaration activated terrorist cells within the armed forces of the United States. These cells seized control of military bases and materiel across the continent and around the world. As you might assume the members of the military loyal to the Constitution are fighting back against these traitors, but we have no information as to the outcome of those battles as they are still ongoing.

"Some time ago members of the international community approached me and the other western governors with intelligence on the possibility of secession. At first we did not believe it possible but as time went on more intelligence emerged and we attempted to address our concerns at the Federal level. After repeated attempts it became clear that this treasonous cancer had spread to the highest levels of the Federal system and it was impossible to know who could be trusted. At this time I must inform you all that we have had no contact with the President, the Vice-President, or any of our members of Congress. At the moment Washington DC is completely off the grid and is currently the location of active military action.

"As we did not know who to trust, even within our own borders, we approached the international community for assistance in securing the military assets and preventing all our warfare. That effort is currently underway and is the reason behind the UN presence on our streets. Once the current emergency is resolved we will work with the UN to secure the military assets on our territory and to transfer most if not all first responder and even military activities back to the local and state units where they belong.

"Please understand we did not want this. We did not vote to destroy the United States. If at any time those thirty-six states choose to return to our former peaceful union we will welcome them with open arms and all the assistance we can offer. But so long as they continue to act in this aggressive manner we will defend our borders and our people and we will accept all the assistance needed in doing so, regardless of the source. In order to facilitate that assistance the governors of the western pacific states, California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii, as well as the Pacific Territories, have agreed to form what we are calling the Coalition of United Pacific States, the nation of Pacifica. We consider this a temporary measure only but an essential one on the international level.

"And so my fellow Californians, my fellow Pacificans, I ask your cooperation, your patience and your grace during this time of transition. And as your beliefs allow, we ask that you keep your fellow citizens both here and across the divide in your prayers as we attempt a peaceful resolution. Please remain by your radio. The Commander of the UN forces will be speaking in a few moments. Thank you for your patience. And may God bless us all."

* * *

When the speech was over there was silence in the coffee shop. To Spencer it felt as if the community as a whole, the shop, the crowds listening outside, perhaps the entire city, was thinking over what had happened. It was making up its collective mind about the situation, what to think, how to feel and what to do now.

And then he almost felt the collective shift as the group mind was made up.

As he watched the lead barista stepped out from behind the counter and out to the sidewalk. The crowd outside went completely still as she stepped right to the curb. "Hey!" She called out to the UN troops in the plaza. "Hey!" When they looked over, acknowledging her presence she held up the container in her hand. "Want some coffee?"

The troops blinked and looked around to the officers who had been listening to the radio and watching the crowd with wary interest. They spoke amongst themselves for a moment before one turned to the barista. "Yeah, sure."

The crowd erupted in cheers. Decision made.


	6. Chapter 06

**Chapter 06**

******Tuesday, November 21, 2017**

* * *

"This is crazy!" JJ looked up from the paper in her hands in shock. Like everyone else she had been watching the TV all morning with a growing sense of frustration and even fear. Had the entire country lost its collective mind?

"This is getting this country back on track." Uncle Steve corrected gently. "Back to being a true Christian nation guided by Biblical principles. Now..." He held up his hand to stave off her objections. "…don't waste your breath on arguing with me. We have more urgent things to discuss. Did you and William make a covenantal marriage?"

JJ's objections died in her throat. He was right, immediate crisis first. She needed to take care of Henry before anything else. "A what?"

"A covenantal marriage? In a proper church, counseled by a proper pastor?"

"I don't…we were married by a Justice-of-the-peace in my friend's back yard."

Uncle Steve nodded. "I see. And Will's not here to take proper vows. I already know that Henry was born out of wedlock. According to our laws any woman with children who cannot enter into a proper convent in the next thirty days shall be declared unredeemable. They'll be sent off to slave housing…"

"Slave housing!"

"…where they will be protected by the state until they can be sold to repay their debt to society. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what a woman like yourself would be sold for even though they wouldn't say that outright. And Henry would be taken to an orphanage to be raised for a soldier in God's army. Now I know Henry is Will's natural son and I know that regardless of the state of the paperwork and your feminist, liberal views you have always been a good and faithful wife to him."

"Of course!"

"And so I'm willing to help you both. I'll affirm to the magistrate that you're my nephew's widow."

"Widow!"

Uncle Steve gestured for her to remain calm again. "Yes, for William has abandoned you through no fault of your own."

"He was at a training conference!"

"He should have put his family first. As a widow you would be legally entitled to live in my house under my umbrella of protection,, and Henry would be allowed to remain with you. Now I will do this so long as you agree to obey the laws of the land and the rules of this house, and to raise Henry to do the same. I won't have you embarrassing me at the gate. Can we agree on this?"

JJ was shocked. She was miles from anywhere, didn't have access to a car or nearly enough cash, and didn't know who she could trust. Unsubs, she thought, they're all Unsubs and we just have to pacify them to minimize the damage until we can see a break to get out of here. "Yes."

Uncle Steve was suddenly all smiles. "Good. I knew you'd be reasonable about all this. Now, I spoke to Will yesterday, he said that he did not want anyone disciplining either you or your son, that he would look after it personally. As your husband that is his right to decide and I will respect that. But I don't want it to look like Henry has special privileges in front of the other children so I expect that you will train him to follow our standards and take him in hand if he does not. I'll make some allowances for a time as neither of you have been properly trained but if he becomes overtly rebellious I'll have to step in and chastise the boy. Do we understand?"

In other words make Henry fall in line or he'll be beaten. "Yes. But I don't know your standards…"

Uncle Steve nodded. "I know. We have copies of the appropriate texts on the subject, and Doris will stand as your Mentor while you learn your place." He smiled. "College educated woman like yourself ought to have a fast learning curve. A willing heart would to a long way to making up the difference while you learn."

"Of course." Pacify the Unsub. Whatever it took. But there was one thing… "I want Henry to stay in my room." She knew the boys and young men were staying in one of the big rooms in the attic but Henry hadn't been comfortable enough with the others to stay there without an adult around. How had she not noticed that this huge, old plantation was almost a prison camp?

"He should stay in with the other boys."

"No! He's my son, he stays with me."

Uncle Steve sighed. "I'll allow it for now, as he just lost his father. But don't push it here Jenny."

"JJ." Why did they always screw that up?

"That's not a proper name for a lady." There was a knock at the door. It was one of the younger men with a handful of items JJ had planned to hide as soon as she got out of here. "Thank you." Uncle Steve said as he shut the door.

"Those are mine!" JJ said.

"Not any longer. Your passport is useless, women are not allowed to drive, your accounts are frozen, and this..." He held up her badge. "This will get you shot. We'll lock the pistol up in the gun safe. And this phone is useless now. Here." He slid it across the desk to her.

JJ picked up the phone and tried some of the numbers. All she got was the fast busy of a blocked line, even back to HQ. She felt frozen as her options started crumbling in front of her. She barely noticed as there was another tap at the door and Uncle Steve went to answer it. There was no way out of here, she didn't have any id, the phone didn't work, she couldn't….wait, maybe there was one chance…

A moment later, thankfully just as she sent the text Uncle Steve came back. "I need to go take care of a few things." He said. "Are we in agreement?"

"I believe so." JJ replied politely. "May we talk again later?"

"It it's needed. Now go get changed into something decent and join the other women."

Decent? JJ looked down at her knee length shorts and t-shirt. "Yes…sir."

"Good. I hope the Lord brings peace to your heart on this Jenny. I'd like you to have a long and happy life here."

"Thank you sir." I have to find a way out of this, JJ thought. I have to get us home.

* * *

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Note: Footnotes available for this chapter on my Archive Of Our Own account


	7. Chapter 07

**Chapter 07**

******Tuesday, November 21, 2017**

* * *

The greater community making the decision to deal with the crisis with grace didn't change anything. The UN was still guarding the Federal Building; the world was still falling apart. But the troops relaxed some, knowing that the crowd was, in the main, friendly and the crowd relaxed some, knowing that the troops were there to try to help.

The commander of the UN troops came on the radio and started laying down the law for the next two weeks. Curfew, no hoarding, essential services to continue, banks closed for a few more days, and so on. It sounded to everyone like the UN had a contingency plan for the breakup of a country and they were running it step by orderly step. From the general reaction of the crowd no one was inclined to throw a wrench into the well-organized works.

The BAU team continued to hold down that back corner booth. "They didn't ask first responders to report in." Morgan said when it was over. "I would have expected that."

"I haven't seen any all day." Garcia said.

"You know this explains the helicopters I saw taking off." Spencer said. "They were probably heading to Travis Air Force Base. That's the only major military base in the area."

"Helping to put down the traitors," Morgan said.

Spencer winced. "I want to say that's harsh…"

"…but we took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. These people just put themselves on the domestic list. So did Gordinski, he must have known this was going down."

"So did my Dad, that's why he moved Mom. I know his law firm works with a number of state government officials, he must have taken them on as clients and didn't realize the scope of what they intended until the last minute. How could we have missed this? There hasn't been anything…?" Spencer asked.

"Millennium Challenge." Garcia said.

"The what?" Morgan asked.

The Millennium Challenge," Spencer said. "The Millennium Challenge was a major war game exercise conducted by the United States armed forces in mid-2002, likely the largest such exercise in history. The exercise, which ran from July 24 to August 15 and cost $250 million, involved both live exercises and computer simulations. MC02 was meant to be a test of future military "transformation "—a transition toward new technologies that enable network-centric warfare and provide more powerful weaponry and tactics. The simulated combatants were the United States, referred to as "Blue", and an unknown adversary in the Middle East, "Red". It was later determined that "Red" was assumed to be Israel as the most technologically sophisticated nation in the Middle East."

"Okay, I am actually interested this time." Morgan said.

"Red, commanded by retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Paul K. Van Riper, adopted an asymmetric strategy, in particular, using old methods to evade Blue's sophisticated electronic surveillance network. For example Van Riper used motorcycle messengers to transmit orders to front-line troops and World War II light signals to launch airplanes without radio communications. Red used a fleet of small boats to determine the position of Blue's fleet by the second day of the exercise. In a preemptive strike, Red launched a massive salvo of cruise missiles that overwhelmed the Blue forces' electronic sensors and destroyed sixteen warships. This included one aircraft carrier, ten cruisers and five of six amphibious ships. An equivalent success in a real conflict would have resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 service personnel. Soon after the cruise missile offensive, another significant portion of Blue's navy was "sunk" by an armada of small Red boats, which carried out both conventional and suicide attacks that capitalized on Blue's inability to detect them as well as expected. At that point the exercise was suspended, Blue's ships were "re-floated", and the rules of engagement were changed with the participants forced to follow a script drafted to ensure a Blue Force victory, including revealing the position of the Red units and not allowing them to shoot down the aircraft bringing Blue troops ashore. When that happened Van Riper resigned his position and later expressed concern that the war game's purpose had shifted to reinforcing existing doctrine and notions of infallibility within the U.S. military rather than serving as a learning experience."

"So how does that apply here?" Morgan asked.

"The Millennium challenge showed that you can evade US intelligence by being patient and going low-tech. The term Brethren is commonly used by a number of churches within the US, implying that the new government is theocratic. Using the church networks would give them regular, secure meetings which could not legally be monitored by the government, assuming they had any indication that they should do so. All they would have had to do was pass out schedules at the various services, they could meet to plan attacks under the guise of bible study. That would also explain the number of military members involved, Protestant churches are allowed to set their own requirements for military chaplains, they could have seeded the chaplain core with loyalists who, if they passed the general military requirements, would have been commissioned as officers and allowed to counsel troops on any matter without generating any records."

"Who are you more faithful to, the government or God?" Morgan said. "That's a good way to turn someone's head. I could see all kinds of ways that could go wrong."

"On the plus side, it looks like they're following postmillennial dominionist eschatology."

"English, Reid." Garcia said.

"In Christian end-times theology, eschatology, postmillennialism is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after the "Millennium", a Golden Age in which Christian ethics prosper." Spencer said. "Dominion Theology or Dominionism is the idea that Christians should work toward either a nation governed by Christians or one governed by a conservative Christian understanding of biblical law. Most Dominionists believe that the United States is supposed to be the great Christian nation that will lead the world into the Millennium, which is why the Lord gave the US such a large and powerful military."

"And now they're taking control of it." Morgan said. "They planned their work and now they're working their plan. Slick."

"It could be worse. Some postmillennialists believe that Christ will only return once the planet is completely destroyed. Given that they might have control of our nuclear arsenal I'm actually rooting for the Dominionists on this one."

Morgan and Garcia both looked at him. "Your turn to get the coffee sunshine," Morgan said.

* * *

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* * *

Note: Much of Spencer's lecture on the Millenium Challenge is taken from the Wikipedia article on the subject.

Footnotes over at my AO3 account. Really worth a look this time.


	8. Chapter 08

**Chapter 08**

******Tuesday, November 21, 2017**

* * *

Spencer got up to get the coffee, still thinking about religious zealots and taking over everything. All of a sudden a thought sparked across his brain so hard that he stopped. "What?" Morgan asked.

"Mom." Spencer said.

"She is safe, right?" Garcia asked.

"Hmm? Oh yea, Seaside Ridge is great but, um, they had three other patients dumped there in the past two days. Dr. Delgado said that there have been patients brought over from the east and dumped all up and down the coast."

"Maybe families who knew this was coming." Morgan said. "Wanted to get their loved ones out of the way like your Dad."

"Yeah, but wouldn't they want to keep their family members where they could visit?" Garcia asked. "If you knew there was going to be a war to the west why not move them east instead of further west?"

"Because their might be something else going on." Spencer said as he sent out a text and mentally crossed his fingers. "Mom's delusions have always had some link to reality, like her believing that someone was coming to steal me away being based in the Gary Michael's case. Lately she's been suffering from the delusion that the staff at Bennington was planning to kill all the residents because they were possessed by demons."

"She thought the staff was possessed." Morgan said.

"That's what I thought but what if it was reversed? A number of religious groups believe that mental illness is actually caused by possession, and incurable mental illness is caused by intractable demons refusing to be exorcized."

Spencer watched the shock come over his friends faces as they realized what that could mean. "There's no way to prove that." Morgan said.

"No, but if the three other patients that recently transferred are all suffering from the exact same delusion it's a good indication." Spencer held up his phone. "Hopefully the text went through." He turned to get in line for coffee.

While he was standing in line he noticed two of the UN soldiers standing in line in front of him. Even with their rifles slung they were still alert and one of them had noticed Morgan. His shirt had pulled up somewhat, revealing the holster in his belt. He nudged his friend who looked to where he was pointing and tensed. Spencer looked over, realized what they had noticed and tapped them. "Um, my German is lousy." He said. "English?"

"Some." One said while they kept watching Morgan.

"You're looking at my friend over there? With the gun?" He held up his badge and indicated Morgan as well. "FBI. All three of us."

They peered at his badge and relaxed. "Ohhh. FBI." The one said. "State Police, yeah?'

"Something like that. When we heard what was happening we came down to the office and…" He gestured to the ongoing occupation. "We're not here to cause trouble."

"Good to know. Thank you." They spoke a little more and then caught the attention of a third soldier who headed out somewhere.

Where became clear just as Spencer was getting back to the table with the coffee. He came back with a man in the traditional blue suit and an FBI windbreaker. "Back here? Thanks." The soldier nodded and left. "FBI?" The man asked.

The three at the table pulled out their ID's. "SSA Derek Morgan." He said, offering his hand and a seat. "This is SSA Dr. Spencer Reid and our Technical Analyst Penelope Morgan."

"SSA Joel Moss. I guess I'm the agent in charge since no one above me showed up for work this morning."

That surprised them. "Seriously?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah. Most of our command structure and about two-thirds of our office couldn't be reached. They're just…gone. Um…" He looked over at Garcia's laptop and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Our Tech Analyst gave me this before he took off; he had to go check on his mom. Can you use this to access our network from here?"

Garcia squinted at the building across the street. "Maybe." She set to work.

"You said two thirds." Morgan said. "What about the rest?'

"They're all out there somewhere. I should round them up and have them come check in at least."

"No." Garcia said. "Easier way." She typed something else and within moments among the murmuring crowd people began asking for any FBI. "Crowd sourced."

"Great. BAU, please tell me you weren't here after a serial. We do not need that on top of everything." SSA Moss said.

"No, our unit is on stand down this week. We're all on vacation." Morgan said. "We heard something was going on and were trying to come in and help. Speaking of, where's SFPD?"

"Out. They had an even higher percentage of people not show today than we did. Same thing with fire and medics and the local ER's. All the hospitals are running shorthanded from all the nurses who didn't show. And according to my wife there were so many teachers out they aren't even bothering with classes today, they're baby sitting at the schools."

"Jinkies." Garcia said. "Maybe Will was right, people were moving out. Oh, a friend of ours, DC Metro, his wife is in our unit, he was at the airport in Seattle, said it was a madhouse…Oh my God! JJ!" Garcia practically screamed as the blood left her face.

"She's still in DC, right?" Spencer asked. DC was probably bad but JJ could find a way to stay safe.

"No! She and Henry headed down to the big family reunion day before yesterday! They're at his Grandmother's farm north-east of the lake!"

"The lake?" SSA Moss asked

"Lake Pontchartrain." Spencer said. "Outside New Orleans."

SSA Moss shook his head. "Damn. That's about as deep into enemy territory as you can get."

* * *

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* * *

Note: Once again a few footnotes over on the AO3 account


	9. Chapter 09

**Chapter 09**

******Tuesday, November 21, 2017**

* * *

"Jenny." Aunt Doris called to JJ as she was leaving the study. "Can you come up here a minute?"

Before today JJ would have interpreted that as a gentle request but now she recognized for the velvet draped order it was. "Sure." She said. She followed the older woman upstairs and down to the bedroom she shared with Uncle Steve. The bed was piled high with clothing. "What's all this?"

"Clothing for you." Aunt Doris said. "You need to dress more modestly now dear. You don't want to risk one of the men out there accusing you of defrauding him. That will get you sent off for being a harlot right quick. These were all donated so you can pick out what you like."

"Defrauding?" JJ asked. "I don't understand."

"Defrauding. Stirring up desires that cannot be righteously fulfilled." Aunt Doris looked out the door, closed it, and then dropped her voice on top of it. "I don't have to tell you that men are visual creatures. You're a married woman; surely you know that they can become aroused by the least little thing."

"True. But I don't see how that's my problem. It's not like I can control how they feel."

"Oh yes you can. Walking around flaunting your body is just tempting them into sin. Putting them in that position and then not fulfilling the offer you just made is an act of fraud. That will get you sent off to the pens now."

"Fraud? You mean someone could bring legal action against me?"

"If you didn't give them what you offered, why yes." Doris said. "If you were found guilty there would be a fine, of course, and if your family couldn't pay it you'd be in debt to the court and you'd have to sell off your assets to cover it."

"I don't have any assets here."

"You have your body and your freedom. And you have Henry; he's your property now."

JJ felt a chill settle around her heart. "You are not serious!"

"Oh yes I am. Our new government is based on biblical principles and debt slavery was very common in those times. Look at Exodus 21:2-6, and Leviticus 25:39-55, even the New Testament, Colossians 3:22 or Ephesians 6:5." Doris looked at her steadily. "You do not want to be listed as a female slave from a pagan nation Jenny. It would not do well by you."

"Okay. How do I avoid that?"

"For one thing watch how you dress. Be as modest as possible. And watch your comportment, don't break into the men's conversations and call attention to yourself. Stay with the other women, as a widow you don't need to be putting yourself out there anyway. Keep your voice low and gentle and try not to look the men in the eye."

"In other words act submissive and broken and try not to call attention to yourself."

"As is proper for a woman in mourning. You do all that and everyone in the family would stand up for you if someone did make an accusation. It would clearly be his sinful and perverted mind since you were acting like a proper and god-fearing lady."

"Right." A thought occurred to her. "What if someone decides to force the issue?" JJ asked.

"You mean what are the new rape laws?" Doris sighed. "Deuteronomy speaks primarily to virgins, not widows. It would be a case of his word against yours. If he approaches and you turn him away then he can claim you have defrauded him. If you fight him then it can be considered assault, especially with your background, as well as fraud. And if you complain after the fact he can say you tempted him specifically to do him harm and you will be sent away as an unredeemable harlot, that's worse than slavery. Your best bet is just to let him have what he wants."

JJ felt the chill that had settled into her chest spreading out into her body. "You are not serious."

Doris nodded. "I am. If he's caught and you didn't say anything and had been behaving yourself then he'll be forced to marry you and pay a large fine to the family. Most men who are just interested in a little relief don't want that so they'll be careful not to be caught. It's the best way to end the matter quickly and move on. If it happens just remember that you're protecting your son here. Besides, you're a widow with a child, don't tell me you haven't before."

By now the chill had JJ shivering. "Got it. Okay, what do I wear?"

"You'll want to wash the make-up off your face and braid back your hair so it can be decently covered." Doris and many of the other women in the family wore their hair back and cloth or lace veils over their knots. "I'll show you how to put it up. And then pick out a new wardrobe for yourself. No pants, they call attention to the privates and are improper for a woman anyway. I assume you wear sports bras, packed a few of them? Those are perfect; they help conceal the bust line. Granted you're small anyway so you can get away with some of these long-sleeved t-shirts. Now you're better off with jumpers, skirts and blouses are for younger women looking to court. Denim is a real workhorse but some of these prints would be nice on you for church. Want to keep the shirts and the background to any prints in black, being a widow and all. And your shoes will do fine for now. You've never trained as a keeper of the home, have you?"

JJ dug into her suitcase and found her make-up remover. "I…no. I, um, had a housekeeper back in DC. She came in once a week."

"Well we'll start on lesson plans first thing in the morning; see what you already know and what else you might want to learn. Even if we get house slaves it would be good for you to know how to properly manage things. Now go wash your face and I'll get what we'll need for your hair."

Down the rabbit hole JJ thought as she headed for the bathroom, everything has gone completely insane. I just need to protect Henry, keep him safe and with me. My family will come for us. My family will come for me.

* * *

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* * *

Footnotes for this chapter at my AO3 site.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

******Tuesday, November 21, 2017**

* * *

They all looked at each other in horror. "We're just going to have to go get them out." Morgan said finally.

"How?" Garcia asked.

"I don't know yet baby girl." Morgan said. "JJ may have to hold out for a bit until things settle. But she's strong, she can make it."

"Red Cross might be able to help." SSA Moss said. "Once they're in and on the ground."

"Yeah!" Garcia said, "The Red Cross! They'll get them out of there." Just then her phone rang and the entire coffee shop went completely silent. She had earbuds draped around her neck, even as she picked it up to answer she was plugging them in. "It's London! It's London calling!" The crowd transcended quiet as she answered. "Emily! Oh my god! Are you okay?" Pause. "Yeah, we're fine. I'm in San Francisco, at the field office - well, the coffee shop across the street which is now the field office – Morgan and Reid are here with me." Pause. "Yeah, right here with me. I can put hands on and everything. Hold on." She passed the phone to Morgan.

Morgan's face lit in a smile he heard the voice on the line. "Hey sweetheart. No, I'm good. My family's here, we're staying with relatives out in Oakland. Gordinski of all people, he gave me a heads up. Yeah. I'll let them know. Garcia's keeping all the intel, just share it with her. Hang on; I'll give you Reid next. Love you lots partner." He passed the phone around the table.

Spencer accepted with a smile. "Emily!"

"Reid!" Emily said with relief in her voice. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Is your Mom?"

"Yeah, Dad must have found out this was coming, he showed up at Bennington a few days ago and moved her out here. I came out to check on her and, well, here I am."

"Oh, thank god!"

"Is everything all right there?"

"Yeah, London's quiet. I'll tell Garcia everything. I'm just glad you're okay. Stay that way, all right? Promise me?"

"As best I can. You do the same?"

"As best I can."

Spencer passed the phone back to Garcia who started filling Emily in on what was happening. "Friend of yours?" SSA Moss asked.

"Former teammate, she transferred over to Interpol about what, five years ago? You do not need to be specific." Morgan said to Spencer. "She's running a unit in London now."

"At least the international lines are open again. FBI, Interpol, she ought to have solid intel."

"Better. Before us she was CIA."

"Sweet."

By now Garcia was listening and typing, not speaking. Eventually they had to end the phone call, at which point she finished typing and hit send with a flourish. Everyone immediately gathered around their respective screens. "Okay, so personal intel first. Emily is fine, of course. Rossi, Blake and Blake's husband are all in Montreal where Doctors Without Borders is organizing a response. They don't know if they're going to hook up with the FBI or the RCMP or what but they are sticking close. Hotch and Sean and Jack and Beth are actually in the air right now. They are flying out to London because Hotch doesn't think New York or anywhere else is safe enough and he wants them out of the way so they're going to go stay with Emily until they can get settled."

"Kids come first." Morgan said.

"The big news is that JJ was able to get a text out to Emily. She said she and Henry are okay and safe for now and that Uncle Steve is hiding them from the local LEO's for as long as he can. Now I hate to Godwin myself but should I be getting creepy creepy Anne Frank vibes here?"

Spencer considered this. "Maybe," he said. "Uncle Steve is a very conservative religious zealot. They've had a lot of clashes over the years about some of the life choices JJ and Will have made."

"On the other hand that family is tight." Morgan said. "JJ is Will's wife and Henry is his blood. That's going to matter more than politics or even faith, so long as JJ keeps her cool and plays along."

"Which she would for Henry, if nothing else."

"What will she have to do?" Garcia asked. "And what will they do if she doesn't?"

"I don't know." Spencer said. "I don't know enough about this particular sect to be able to put together an accurate profile."

"Who does know?"

Spencer smiled as the answer bubbled out of his brain. "The Rev. Dr. Caran Cain, she's the foremost expert on Dominionist theology and philosophy outside of the faith."

"Why are you smiling about it?" Moss asked.

"Because she teaches at The Graduate Theological Union at UC Berkley," Spencer said. "I'll head over there tomorrow and see what she can tell me."

"We'll head over." Morgan said. "Until this thing shakes we stick together. After that, we'll come back here and help you re-organize the field office." Morgan said to Moss. "Baby girl here can get your tech up and running, and I covered for our Unit Chief for a while, I can get with the paperwork."

"If Will's here we'll bring him along." Garcia said.

"Yeah, he's got the chops for the job."

"Sounds like a plan." Moss said.

"Okay, as for the public stuff this didn't just happen here." Garcia said. "Apparently the traitors weren't as sneaky-sneaky as they thought. A lot of other countries figured it out but when they went to the US government they got stonewalled, probably by traitors, so they ended up working together to mount a response."

"How long have they been planning this?" Morgan asked.

"Potentially since the 1990's." He took a breath to continue, but Morgan held up his hand.

"Short form. That's good enough, you can explain the rest later." Morgan said. He looked over at Garcia. "What else did she say?"

"Emily said that individual countries went after the US bases in their territories, all coordinated at the same time, just as the secession info was coming out. The traitors were ready to rise up and started to but with the locals help the loyalists were able to put them down nearly everywhere. The UN has taken control of the bases and stuff on them and are hanging on to the traitors for now."

"Why?" Moss asked.

"Leverage," Morgan said. "There are loyalists on the bases inside the seceded states as well as civilians. They're probably planning on a prisoner swap."

"They might not go for that." Spencer said. "Convert or die is not an uncommon belief with this kind of religious zealotry, if that's what we're talking about here."

"Then they don't get their people back."

"Suffering and enduring persecution brings you closer to god."

"So they would be happier staying in prison over there and killing off our people here if they didn't turn." Morgan shook his head. "I did not need to hear that Reid."

A murmured passed through the crowd as one of the baristas climbed up on a table. "Sorry folks!" She said. "We're out of coffee until tomorrow!"

Morgan smiled at them all, "And just in time."

As they were packing up Spencer's phone chimed a text from Dr. Delgado. _All patients from east had same delusions. Have stopped since arrival._

"What does that mean?" Moss asked.

"The Red Cross isn't even on the ground yet?" Morgan asked in return.

"No."

Spencer felt sick. This could be happening already. It could be happening now. He knew people, people who didn't deserve… "I'll tell the commander out there anyway."

"What is it?" Moss asked again.

"Creepy creepy Anne Frank vibes," Garcia said.

"You can only do what you can." Morgan said.

I know, Spencer thought, I know. But still. "And they say they're the crazy ones." He looked out at the tank across the street and sighed. You can only do what you can, and then you have to trust another for the rest. "Let's go."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

******Tuesday, November 21, 2017**

* * *

JJ looked herself over in the mirror with growing discomfort.

She was used to dressing professionally active, as they called it, neat and tidy but not flashy or provocative and comfortable enough to put on the vest and get into a fist fight if it was called for. On week-ends she tended toward active stuff, shorts, tank tops, running pants. She liked feeling like she could go work out or shoot hoops with her husband and son or do whatever she wanted without thinking about it at all.

Now she was stuck in a shirt that buttoned to her wrists and the hollow of her throat. Black of course, which was appropriate for a widow and made her look appropriately washed out and sallow. Over that she had on this denim dress-thing that was cut like overalls on top but had a shapeless skirt that fell to her ankles. Her hair had been braided and pinned up and a matching black kerchief covered everything but her bangs. The only bits of jewelry she'd been allowed to keep were her sister's necklace and her wedding ring. She looked so small in these clothes, fragile and too thin, like she could be easily broken.

I look _meek_, she thought.

Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes. But more than anything she wanted to climb into her workout gear and go beat on Morgan for a while, just to feel her power.

The door creaked open behind her. She turned and saw Henry standing there. "Uncle Steve said you wanted me up here." He said. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Henry." She brought him in, shut the door and settled him on the bed next to her. "Have you been watching TV with the other?"

Henry shrugged. "We watched a little. It kinda boring. When's Dad gonna get here?"

JJ took a deep breath. "That's why we need to talk. I don't think your Dad's going to be here for a while."

"Does that mean we're going home?"

"No. Do you remember when you learned about the Civil War in school last year?"

"Yeah. A bunch of states left the Union and fought over slavery."

"Right. Well, it's…happening again."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked

"I mean a bunch of states left the Union this morning. Only this time it's not the Union versus the Confederacy, it's the Union versus the Brethren Republic. "

Henry's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Yeah, really." JJ said. "I know, I was surprised about it too. And they're not fighting over slavery, they're fighting over…well, I'm not sure what they're fighting over."

"We should call Spencer. He would know."

"We can't. The phones don't work."

That made his eyes go even wider and he went a little pale. No phones started making it real. "Can't we just go home?" Henry asked

"No. See, we're a Union kind of family, we always have been and we always will be." JJ took a deep breath. "But all of your aunts and uncles and cousins here are Brethren and we are deep in Brethren territory."

"You mean like behind enemy lines? Like in war?"

"Yeah, like in war. They have gone to war and we are on the wrong side of the line."

"Where's Dad?"

"He's on the other side. He was safe the last time I talked to him."

"How do we get to him?"

"I don't know yet." JJ said.

"Can't we just drive there?"

"No. They took my car keys; women aren't allowed to drive here now. And my credit card probably wouldn't work even if I could get us to the airport and get a flight out."

"So there's no way out?" Henry asked

"No, Henry, I know we will either find a way to get there or he will find a way to get to us but for right now we just have to hide."

"Hide?"

"Do you remember when you took that class trip to the Holocaust Museum?"

Henry got real quiet. JJ knew how that experience had moved him and bothered him for weeks after. "Are they killing people?"

"I don't think so. This is not that bad. Nothing will ever be that bad." But if that was a 10, she thought, this is an 8 and rising rapidly.

"Are they locking them up in camps?"

"They…might be. I think they intend to start doing that soon."

"Why?" This came out as an almost panicked whine, but he was still holding it together.

"I don't know." JJ said. "I think because they're scared of us, but I don't know why."

"Are they going to lock us up?"

"Not if we can help it." God, she hated scaring him like this. But the danger was real and serious and he needed to know so he would be careful. "Uncle Steve said he could hide us here and protect us."

"Like on the last floor of the museum?"

"Yeah, a lot like that. But he can only do that if we're really careful and follow the rules really closely, understand?" Henry nodded, his eyes the size of saucers. "The first big thing is that I need you to do whatever Uncle Steve tells you to do without arguing or asking any questions. You can't say 'you're not my Dad' or 'I have to go ask Mom', or anything like that. No matter what it is you just say 'yes, sir' and you run and do it as quick as you can, just like your cousins do."

"If I don't will he send me away?"

"If the wrong person sees it and it calls attention to us they might. So you need to behave just exactly like your cousins do, like what they like, play what they want to play, whatever. And you agree with them about everything. If they say mean and nasty things about people then you go right along with it. Now I know your Dad and I said that you should always stand up for people and not say mean things but right now you need to not call attention, all right? If it really upsets you you can come tell me and we'll come up here and talk about it. This will be our little place to be honest with each other no matter what. Do you understand?"

Henry nodded. "I have to pretend to be like my cousins and do whatever they do and like what they like. And then we can talk about it later. Is that why you're wearing that dress, so you can look more like Aunt Doris and Aunt Kelly and all the other aunts?"

"Yes. Exactly. That's exactly right. I'm going to pretend to be like them and you have to pretend to be like the other boys. When your Dad comes and takes us home we can stop pretending. But the other thing you have to pretend right now is that your Dad is dead?"

That made him all but jump in place. "Why?"

"Because it will be easier for Uncle Steve to protect us if he tells everyone I'm your Dad's widow, which would mean that he's dead. So we're going to tell a lie, all four of us, you, me, Aunt Doris and Uncle Steve. We're going to tell everyone that your Dad died fighting this morning."

"But he didn't, did he? You're sure?"

"The phones haven't been working well at all." JJ said as she pulled hers out of her pocket. But when she looked there was a voicemail waiting for her. "Someone left a message."

_Hey Jayje, it's me. Listen, I can't get out. There's some kind of fighting going on and it's all over the bases and they've closed the airports. Now I'm okay, don't you worry about me, I'm heading down to San Francisco, I'm meeting Penelope, Derek and Spencer down there. We're gonna find a way to come get you out, all right? You just sit tight and keep your head down; do whatever you have to do to survive. Whatever it takes, you hear me? You tell Henry that his daddy loves him and is gonna come get him, all right. And you remember that I love you more than there are words for and I always will sweetheart. I love you._

The message stopped there. JJ saved it with trembling hands and tucked her now most precious possession away. She looked up into her son's face and saw her own tears mirrored there. "There, see? He's alive and he promised. They're going to come for us, all our friends. Now can you pretend until he gets here?"

Henry nodded and crawled into her arms.

JJ held her son tight and let her own tears fall. After all, widows were supposed to cry.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

At some point during the time it took them to return Spencer's car to the rental place, pick up Garcia's bags at the hotel, and drive back to Morgan's family's home, the cable system came back to life, allowing people to tune into the news and see what was going on around the country and around the world. As a result they walked into Morgan's family having a vociferous non-debate with each other over the war. "They are not Christian." Uncle Roger said as he took center stage. "I don't care what they say they are not Christian."

"Uncle Roger is a deacon down at MLK Baptist." Morgan said quietly as his mother shooed them over to where a small buffet was lined up on the kitchen counter.

"Did they ever try to recruit people at your church?" Spencer asked.

"Oh more than one time." Uncle Roger said. "Couple of families at the church heard about their ways on the internet, started trying to get us to invite out their preachers from Atlanta. Said they would solve all the problems with gangs and drugs and girls getting in to trouble. Finally Pastor Brown let them have someone come out to speak to us. Out came this fine family with about eight or nine kids all dressed alike and playing their music and acting like robots. He preached his sermon but it wasn't a Christian sermon. And then after, right there in front of everyone, Pastor Brown got up and told him so."

"What did he say?" Garcia asked.

"Well, this fellow talked about three things. First off he talked about how you had to discipline your children. You had to make them obey the first time out, no talking back or even rolling their eyes as kids will do. Don't give them any chances or show them any mercy, they get one chance and that's it. And the only way to do it was to spank on them until you broke their wills, that way they learn to fear you like they're supposed to fear God for the father is God for the family here on earth. Spare the rod and spoil the child he said. Well Pastor Brown got up and started quoting at him over that one. John 14:6 _Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me_. Not through your father here on earth but through Christ direct. And as for making them afraid of the Lord and showing no mercy Luke 17:1-4 _Jesus said to his disciples, 'Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, "I repent", you must forgive.' _That is what the Lord said direct. Forgive."

"Many people think that the quote 'spare the rod, spoil the child comes from Proverbs 13:24, _He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes._" Spencer said. But it's actually from a poem about a love affair, Hudibras by Samuel Butler.

"What medicine else can cure the fits  
Of lovers when they lose their wits?  
Love is a boy by poets styled  
Then spare the rod and spoil the child."

Morgan's Aunt looked over at his mother, Fran. "Is that the one you were telling us about?"

"See. Not Christian." Uncle Roger agreed with Spencer. "Then this preacher went on about how women were supposed to stay home and look after the babies and make their daughters cover up and not talk to the boys and not date. He said if they just learned to be homemakers and housekeepers and maids and didn't try to make something of themselves, acted all meek and mild all the time and let their fathers or their uncles pick out their husbands, all the boys would give up the gangs and the trouble and be inspired to be gentlemen. If they didn't rein in the girls then the Lord would have nothing to do with them. Well Pastor Brown called that legalism out for what it was. What matters is faith, not how you dress or who you run around with. Faith is all that matters to the Lord. Matthew 21:32. _For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him._ Then one of the women in the congregation stood up and asked how they were supposed to pay the rent and put food on the table if they all stayed home and he said that the Lord would provide. Well, we all laughed at him for that and she said he meant the government would provide the food stamps. He went off on a rant about the evils of the government like you wouldn't believe, saying that we had to destroy it all because government was unbiblical and all it did was take your money for taxes. Pastor Brown stood up laughing and quoted Matthew 22:15-21 at him:

_Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?' But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, 'Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.' And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, 'Whose head is this, and whose title?' They answered, 'The emperor's.' Then he said to them, 'Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's.' _

"Then he called them a bunch of Pharisees and invited them out of his church, saying that anyone who wanted to be a Pharisee could just go with them. We had two families leave that day but no more."

"What happened to those families?" Fran asked.

"They both moved away this past month." Uncle Roger said, "Funny how that works. Now, I didn't realize it then but afterward I got to thinking, and I went on line and I looked these people up. They spent a lot of time quoting Paul, used him to justify a lot of things, and a lot from the Old Testament, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, mostly, and some Revelations, of course. But you almost never heard them quoting the gospels, you never heard them quoting Christ. In fact a lot of the time you found them directly contradicting Christ. So they can stand up there and shake a bible at you and tell you that they have found the magical solution that will solve every problem from the bedroom up to the halls of Congress but if they are not following the words of Christ then I cannot call them Christians. No sir."

Fran reached over and took his hand. "Amen."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

******Tuesday, November 21, 2017**

* * *

Unfortunately JJ couldn't stay upstairs forever. Eventually she had to go down and rejoin the family.

The old plantation house had been in the LaMontagine family since before the first Civil War. The last people to formally live in it were Will's great-grandparents. Katrina did some fairly severe damage to the place, especially to the roof, and mold became an issue so they ended up moving to an assisted living facility. Not long after, assorted LaMontagine relatives had started making pilgrimages back here to restore the place to its former glory. All except Will, his grandfather had been the black sheep of the family, moving to the city and becoming a cop. They had been told that this reunion was a chance to get the lost branch back with the rest of the family, and to celebrate the rebuilding of the house. But now she had to wonder if the whole point of the rebuild was so that the entire family could flock together during the secession. All together there were 63 people living on the plantation now, spread out between the huge main house and the cabins. More than enough to act as prison guards.

More than enough to welcome her in as the widow she was not. "Oh Jenny," the wives and older girls cooed as they pulled her into their arms. At least she didn't have to fake crying, she thought as she let them hold her close and pet at her.

In the meantime some of the younger husbands and older boys walked in. "What the hell happened?" One of them asked. "What's all this fuss?"

"We got word." Uncle Steve said. "The enemy found Will out, killed him this morning."

The wave of anger that came off the group of men was palpable. It grew and grew until finally one of them turned and slammed his fist into the plaster beside the door. "Son of a bitch!" He growled.

"Mind your temper!" Uncle Steve Snapped. "Jenny and Henry will remain here, as part of my house, under my protection_. For pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world._ James 1:27." There was a chorus of amens from the group. "Now they have been living among the liberals and the heathens for quite a while, it will take some time for them to learn the ways of the Lord but Jenny has come to the foot of the cross with a willing heart and with the help of her family she will set her feet upon the narrow path. It is up to all of us to support and protect and guide her from here on out and to help raise Will's son to godly manhood. Do you all understand?" There was general agreement all around. "Good. I'll speak to Pastor Brian in the morning about a memorial service. It may be the first in this war, with the Lord's blessing it will be the last."

Doris came up to her then. "Let's go into the workroom, dear, and you can lay your burden down a while. Maybe Henry can go play with the other boys."

JJ was about to say that she didn't want him going far but Henry turned and latched on to her waist. He's regressing out of fear, she thought, hopefully that won't last long.

"What's this?" Uncle Steve said, looking at Henry.

Don't look them in the face, she thought, they perceive that as a challenge to their masculinity and privilege. "He just found out." She murmured, focusing on where the knot on Uncle Steve's tie should be. "He's still upset."

"Well sticking close to his mother for now is understandable. Can't have him working in the women's jurisdiction though."

"We have nuts that need shelling." Aunt Doris said. "And some of those old cowboy radio shows, that ought to keep him usefully occupied."

Uncle Steve nodded his agreement. "All right then. Go off with your mother Henry."

Thankfully JJ didn't have to nudge him. "Yes, sir," Henry said in a shy voice.

Uncle Steve nodded approvingly. "You look very proper Jenny." He said before they headed out.

We can do this, JJ thought as she and Henry went to join the flock of women. We can get through this. They'll come for us. Will promised he would come.

* * *

Sometime after supper had moved into dessert or snacks or something there came a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Uncle Roger said. He looked out the window then opened the door the bare minimum for courtesy. "Can I help you?" He asked.

"Hey. I'm looking for Derek Morgan," said a familiar liquid drawl. "Is he here?"

"Yeah," Uncle Roger said. "You must be the one they've been talking about. Come on in son, and lay your burden down for a while."

"I wish I could." Will LaMontagine had the disheveled look of a long car ride and the worn out look of nights on an airport floor and the swollen look of a man who has cried in the car for hours on end. But he was still standing, and had still not given up. "Hey. Anyone heard any word?"

His friends all ran to hug him. "She got a text off to Emily." Garcia said. "She said they're not hurt but they're stuck but your Uncle Steve is protecting them. And she said to tell you that she loves you."

Will went quiet at that last. "I know that." He said at last. "Now we've just got to go get them."

"How are you gonna do that son?" Uncle Roger asked.

"I don't know." Will said. "I know I can't do it alone."

"We'll help." Derek said. "She's our family too."

"Even you four aren't enough." Fran said. "You're going to need more help."

"Who?" Spencer asked.

"Dunno yet." Will said. "But whoever they are I'm gonna find them."

* * *

.

* * *

**Note:** End of Part 1


	14. Chapter 14

**_Part 2 – Formation_**

_Hope and pray that you'll never need me  
But rest assured I will not let you down.  
I'll walk beside you but you may not see me  
The strongest among you may not wear a crown._

_- "Citizen Solder"_

* * *

**Chapter 14**

******Wednesday, November 22, 2017**

* * *

No one noticed Rian Nock as she moved through the edges of the protest in Sproul Plaza.

No one noticed her but they moved aside anyway. There was a firmness about her movements, a sense of striding as if she owned the earth. As if nothing and no one could stop her. There was a precision in her exact thirty-inch stride and the crispness of her wardrobe that kept her from fitting in among the academic crowd but she'd learned to blend in anyway. And yet people moved out of her way.

It wasn't long before she spotted her sister Caran. She was standing off to one side watching the protest. "What are they protesting?" Rian asked when she got close.

"It's Berkley." Caran said as she crunched a potato chip. "They're…protesting."

Rian groaned when she saw the bag of chips. "That bad?" Caran deliberately crunched a chip in reply. "We need to get out of here. Come on." Rian took her sister's arm and started tugging her out of the crowd.

"What's wrong?" Caran asked.

"The Brethren have issued a fatwa against you. They want you dead."

"It's not a fatwa, they're nominally Christian. And what else is new?"

"English doesn't have a word for it. The office said the chatter made it a legitimate threat."

"That's just because they were listening to the chatter this time." Caran crunched another chip.

Rian winced when she saw the extra salt that crusted the chips. It was an old trick of her sister's, to open a bag and shake more in when she was under stress. "Please tell me you're having something with potassium with that."

"Banana chips."

"And you upped your dose today."

"I tripled it." Caran said.

"Did you try contacting the agency?"

"Fast busy. And the greater net is still down." She crunched another chip.

"He's a strong kid. He'd played this game for a long time. He'll make it."

"You know what they'll do if he slips up."

"Don't think about it."

Her sister just crunched another chip in reply. "So when do you two deploy?" Caran asked

"We're not." Rian said as she led her sister through Sather gate and over to the electric cart she had procured. "The Pacifica government has decided that it doesn't want to be in the business of making war; defensive and peacekeeping operations only. So they've turned over all military functions to the UN."

"So?"

"So the UN doesn't allow troops to participate in operations in their own territory. With the Brethren breathing down our necks Matt and I are not going to Angola. I've been there, I have no desire to make a second trip."

"You know a big part of me is not complaining about that."

Rian chuckled. "Spoken like a true military wife."

"I'm sure Delia will say the same. Speaking of, where is she?"

"In her office working on that presentation you two are giving. The kids are helping her."

"What, they didn't make any threats against her?" Caran asked.

"Nope, apparently a theologian is more dangerous than a psychologist. Matt went home for a nap since he's taking the night shift as your bodyguard."

"Bodyguard. Great." Caran crunched down another chip.

"Why aren't you working on it?" Rian asked

"I'm just giving my end-of-term lecture. It covers the same ground." Caran chuckled without humor. "I've given that lecture every term for ten years; now that the proverbial horse is out of the barn everyone wants to hear it."

"Which is why you now have a target on your ass."

* * *

Movement caught Spencer's eye first. "Hey." He called attention to the others.

Morgan had insisted that they not split up and they hadn't. The four of them had gone over to the Graduate Theological Union office and had been waiting for the past twenty minutes for Dr. Cain to return to the office. According to the department secretary they had just missed her when they arrived. Now they watched as an electric cart pulled up on the curb and two women got out.

It was easy to assume which woman was the one they were looking for, her denim skirt, cardigan and braided hair were practically an academic uniform and her clerical collar announced her place in the department hierarchy. The woman with her had similar features, but she wore her hair to her chin and a dark grey pantsuit that blended in just about anywhere. It was the little things that caught his eye though, that they both had a larger build than you would expect, and the way the other woman moved as she guided her sister up the steps. There was something else going on here.

Will couldn't wait a moment longer. He stepped through the doors to meet them. "Dr. Cain?" He asked.

The other woman stepped in front of the academic and pushed the side of her jacket out of the way, placing her hand on the gun at her hip. "Stop right there." She snapped, warding him off with her other hand. "What do you want?"

"Whoa, whoa,whoa." Morgan said as their hands automatically went up. "We're FBI. We're the good guys."

"Let's see some ID." They obediently pulled out their badges for her to look over. "Inside," she said. Once inside Spencer noticed that she moved them away from the windows. "Sorry about that." But her tone said she wasn't, not really. "The Brethren Counsel has issued a fatwa calling for her death."

"You know edict might actually be a better word for it." The academic said.

"I thought edicts could only be issued by the Vatican." Spencer said.

"Times are changing." She said. "I am Dr. Caran Cain, by the way."

"Dr. Spencer Reid." He made introductions all around.

"The Dr. Reid who co-authored the paper on the use of cultic techniques by sadistic controlling personalities over the internet? Fascinating work. Stop rolling your eyes Rian."

The other woman sighed briefly. "My sister knows me too well. Colonel Rian Nock, USMC." She said by way of an introduction. "At least I was. I don't think the Marine Corps exists anymore."

"Hard day all around," Morgan said.

"Force Recon. You were part of the pilot program, weren't you?" Spencer said.

Rian's jaw dropped but then she looked down at her hand. "Good eyes." She said, indicating the ring she wore. "Yes, I was one of the first five."

"Back during the Iraq war the US military instituted a pilot program to try to integrate female service members into Special Forces units." Spencer explained to the others. "It was only truly successful in the Marine Corps, the other female service members dropped out due to the extreme harassment they received from a few other members of their units."

"You weren't harassed?" Garcia asked.

"Once or twice," Rian said. "I put a stop to that silliness right off."

"If the FBI needs intelligence you should come to my talk at one." Caran said. "My co-author Dr. Delia Cruz and I are giving a presentation for the government and military and then one at four for the press."

"Look, I'm sorry." Will said. "I appreciate the small talk but I can't wait for a presentation. I need to know what's going to happen to the people over there. My wife and son are stuck on the family farm out by Lake Pontchartrain; I need to know what they're going to have to deal with and how we can go get them out."

The two women looked at each other, their eyes softening as they sighed. "My son is trapped in Atlanta." Caran said. "Come up to my office and we'll talk."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

******Wednesday, November 22, 2017**

* * *

They crowded in to Dr. Cain's small office and listened as Will explained what had happened and what his family was like. "It could be a lot worse." Dr. Cain said when he was finished.

"How could it be worse?" Will asked.

"She's not a member of any group high on their target list. And the ones she is a member of, specifically being a liberal, feminist, college-educated professional who bore a child out of wedlock, she can either downplay or recant. I'm about as familiar with law enforcement as anyone else who watches television, being undercover….?"

"Deep cover. Yeah." Morgan said. "JJ's got the chops for that."

"She has the backing of a family that's clearly a member of a Brethren-oriented church. If she can maintain her cover she can survive and protect her son for quite a while."

"What groups are high on the list?" Spencer asked.

For a moment Dr. Cain's professional mask dropped as she exchanged a look with her sister. "Top of the list? The first thing I expect them to do is expel any immigrants and international visitors, regardless of immigration status. They are going to herd people onto boxcars and boats and drop them over the borders. Today we plan to advise the UN to have aid workers spaced along the border with Mexico and Canada and boats at the territorial waterline. Those people are going to need all the help they can get."

"Too bad she can't get on to one of them." Will said. "Weren't for my family she might try."

"She's too blond." Garcia pointed out.

"They'll go after them first because it's easy." Dr. Cain said. "At the same time or directly after they'll go after every member of the LGBT community they can find."

"And expel them?" Morgan asked.

"And kill them." Dr. Cain said. "According to their dogma death by stoning is the proscribed treatment for the ills brought to the community by allowing their perversion in their midst."

"How do you stone someone to death?" Garcia asked.

"Simple." Col Nock said. "You force the prisoner to dig a narrow, deep hole at gunpoint, force them into it, bury them to their neck and then the community throws stones at their head until it's completely encased. They die from concussion, blood loss, dehydration or hyper-or hypothermia, depending on weather conditions. It's a fairly common form of corporal punishment in certain parts of the world."

Garcia looked ill. "That was a rhetorical question."

"That sounds familiar." Spencer said. He looked over at Morgan, "The Stone Pile Killer."

"Yeah, that fits." Morgan said.

"We've been investigating a serial that seemed to strike randomly over the past two years. He left bodies exactly like you described, standing in a narrow grave with the head covered in stones. They usually died of blunt force trauma."

"Let me guess, all young, male victims from rural areas, late teens- to early 20's, commonly one of the eldest of a large family group, their families never reported them missing, and in many cases law enforcement was reluctant to get involved." Dr. Cain said.

"Yeah," Morgan said. "Given the widely separated bodies we were thinking a trucker."

She shook her head. "Your victims were all homosexual. They were either caught or were foolish enough to come out to their families. Their families and church communities killed them to purge themselves of the taint. The father is usually required to throw the first stone to show that he rejects the child and the sin."

"Law enforcement didn't want to work with you because they participated." Col. Nock said. "No witnesses came forward because they were all part of the system. Even small children will throw stones with the help of their parents."

"Son of a bitch," Morgan said. "You're sure about this?"

"If we could I'd tell you to contact Georgia State Police. A local sheriff, one of the good guys, caught one group in progress a few months back." Dr. Cain said. "By now they've already banned women from the workplace, from driving, and from holding their own bank accounts. In the next thirty to sixty days I expect them to set up infrastructure to facilitate the move to a slave-based economy."

"Slavery!" Morgan said.

"Yes, only this time not based on race. They've already cut off all government entitlements. No more food stamps, WIC, housing and utility subsidies, Medicare or Medicaid or public schools. And winter is coming. It won't be long before there are going to be a lot of hurting people out there."

"I thought the church was supposed to help those people." Garcia said. "Feed the hungry, clothe the naked."

"That's what Christ said." Morgan said. "But remember what my uncle said about them not following the gospel."

Dr. Cain chuckled. "Their exegesis is a whole day's discussion. The TL:DR version is that they follow a bastard hybrid of Calvinism and Baptist theology with a healthy amount of Prosperity Gospel dumped in to leaven the mix. They believe that the Lord rewards his chosen here on earth and in heaven and punishes those who are not his true followers with everything from lack of financial success to medical issues, based on Proverbs 13:21"

"_Trouble pursues the sinner, but the righteous are rewarded with good things_." Spencer said.

"Right. Thereby giving to charity is contravening the will of God. Unfortunately they can also pull that one from the Gospels, specifically the parable of the bags of gold, Matthew 25:14-30"

"You can tell us later, Reid." Morgan said. "If I'm remembering it right they'd have to take that as a very literal reading."

"They do." Dr. Cain said. "And they ignore the parable of the sheep and the goats directly after. But to get back on track to deal with the social issues that will arise from these policies they have come up with the idea of reinstating debt slavery along the lines of Exodus 21:2, assuming they go with the idea that the residents of the secessionist states can be considered natives along the lines of 'Israel'."

"_If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for only six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom_." Spencer said.

"Can I borrow him for meetings?" Dr. Cain asked. "Exodus goes on about what to do with the wives and children of slaves, but the simple version is that if you can't afford to support your family you can sell yourselves collectively into slavery for six years. You'll have any debts erased and should get housing, food and medical care. After six years you'll be nominally freed, but with no savings and nothing waiting for you most would re-up. Now that applies to men. Exodus 21:7-11 speaks to women, who are not freed after six years. They are only freed if they are not pleasing, in which case they are returned to the father who sold them. If their fathers are not available the church takes over in that role. I fully expect them to set up some kind of camp system for single mothers to be sold off."

"Uncle Steve wouldn't allow her to be sold." William said. "He wouldn't allow Henry to be sold. Henry's blood kin and he knows it."

"Wouldn't they fall under Leviticus 25:44-46 anyway?" Spencer asked.

Dr. Cain nodded. "_However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. _So the question is, can she pass for a native, a believer? If she can't…"

"We have to get them out of there." Will said.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

******Wednesday, November 22, 2017**

* * *

There wasn't much else to discuss. Dr. Cain invited them to her talk later in the day but for now they headed out. "What the hell am I going to do?" Will asked when they got outside.

"JJ can holder her cover man." Morgan said. "She can make it, she's a strong woman."

"Yeah, but how messed up are they going to be having to go along with that stuff?" Garcia asked.

"It depends on how cult-like the programming is." Spencer said. "Among other variables."

As they stood there talking the watched a man walking down the street toward them. He was wearing a long brown duster despite the warm fall weather, and a wide brimmed hat that shielded his eyes. As he passed he looked at them briefly…no, he _read_ them…nodded politely and headed into the building behind them.

"Did you feel that?" Morgan asked.

"I did." Will said as Spencer nodded along. All the hair on the back of his neck had gone up as every instinct he had started clanging.

"Baby girl, wait out here." Morgan turned and headed back into the building, past the unmanned reception desk. The man in the coat was just heading upstairs toward Dr. Cain's office. "Excuse me." Morgan called out. And the man stopped and turned toward them.

This is not good, Spencer thought, all of his instincts flashing red even though the man had done nothing to warrant this warning. As he watched the man turn his hand almost automatically went for the butt of his revolver.

"It's all right." Col. Nock said as she came down the stairs. "These gentleman are with the FBI, they're coming to the lecture this afternoon. I told them about the death threats."

"Ah." The man said. He turned to Morgan and extended his hand. "Colonel Matthias Cain."

"SSA Derek Morgan. Pleased to meet you." Morgan made the introductions all around. "I guess we'll see you all later."

They made their good-byes and left again. "Tell me I'm not the only one who got the creeps there." Will said.

"Nope." Morgan said. "That man is an Unsub waiting to happen."

"How is she, Ree?" Matthias asked when they got upstairs.

"Lots of potato chips." Rian replied. "I thought you were going home to sleep."

"I lied. I went out to speak to some people about the situation."

"Are they still standing?"

He considered this for a moment. "Mostly."

Rian rolled her eyes at him. "How many years have we been doing this Matt? What is the first rule of warfare?"

He sighed. "Don't harm the civilians."

"Especially in your own territory. Remember that. I'm going to go check on Delia and the kids. Be kind to your wife today, all right?"

"Yes, Mother."

He stepped into the small, homey office, his hat in his hand and looked at his wife. She was standing by the window staring out the window at the parking lot beyond. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"I know." She said. "Before you say it no, no other child will do. I'm afraid I've grown far too attached."

He was quiet for a moment, shocked at what he was about to say. "I believe I have as well."

She turned to him a moment, letting him see the smile on her face at that admission before turning back to the window. She was looking to the east he realized. "They have gone too far this time. They have put their big hairy feet way over the line. And no one is going to do a thing to stop them from taking it all." said Caran

"No?" said Matthias

"No. These are bullies Matthias. The modern world has left them behind and they know it. They feel small and stupid and ashamed, so they attack to make themselves feel more powerful. The rules and laws they attribute to God only serve to make them feel superior. Their whole sense of self worth is wrapped up in being better than us in the sight of a being they made up. And when we meet on their terms and try to negotiate we validate their experience."

"So what do we do?"

"We have to make them afraid." Caran said. "They have to be more afraid of us than of losing what makes them special. Only then will they retreat to protect themselves. Turning over everything to the UN won't do it; the UN thinks they are dealing with rational, stable people who will negotiate based on facts and their own best interest for their survival. For the Brethren not being wrong is survival. Pleasing their God is the only option, only how can you tell when God is pleased? How do you end a…a jihad? We have to make them more afraid of us then they are of God, that's the only way to get them to leave us alone."

"How would you have us do that?" Matthias asked

"I don't know yet."

"Well, let me know and we'll get it done."

She turned back and smiled again, even though her eyes were damp. "Going to make war for me Matthias?"

"If it would make you happy."

"What would make me happy would be to have our son here and safe."

He knew she was going to say that. He moved to stand beside her, hold her gently as she liked so much. There was no one in the world that mattered more to him, no one else in the world he actually hated to hurt. "I might not be able to do that."

"I know."

"I don't suppose you have a plan B for happiness?"

She leaned against him and let her tears start to fall. "Don't let go."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 16**

******Wednesday, November 22, 2017**

* * *

Aunt Doris began to lay down the new order right after breakfast.

The night before everyone had given JJ a comfortably wide berth. They had probably attributed her confusion and reticence and Henry's clinginess to grief, which suited JJ just fine. After supper she had gone to bed early, dragging Henry with her, and she had sat and read him stories until he finally fell into a fitful sleep.

When she had gone to bed she'd plugged her tablet and phone into charge and then stashed them behind the nightstand. Before Henry woke up she'd found loose boards under the furniture where she could stash the tablet and the chargers. The phone went in to the tech pocket on the snug running shorts she wore under the full, long skirt of today's jumper. Hopefully no one would even think to look for her tech items and if they did they wouldn't be found. God bless dry rot, she'd thought as she slid the last piece into place.

It wasn't until they were gathered around the big dining room table that morning that JJ really began to pick up on what was making her so uncomfortable. Some of the men, the younger husbands and the unmarried ones, were looking at her differently, like they were waiting for her to make one false move. Or one inviting move. She couldn't help but remember the new rape laws. If one of them cornered her somewhere thinking she was acting at all inviting she'd have a problem. So she pointedly ignored all of them, focusing on Henry. Always on Henry.

After breakfast the men all went away and JJ joined the women in the workroom with a sigh of relief. The kitchen was a big, L-shaped space, with one arm holding a long table set with mismatched, comfortable chairs. One wall was all windows and French doors that opened on to a big porch and the barnyard beyond it, and the far end held a hearth fitted with a large woodstove. This was the daytime realm of the women of the family; here JJ knew she would be as safe as she could be. As the morning dishes were washed and the morning river of tea began to flow they started shooing the children outside. JJ turned Henry so he could see out the windows. "Stay where I can see you." She said to him.

"He should be all right." Doris said.

JJ closed her eyes so no one could see the anger and fear in them. "I just want him close right now." She said, trying to inject the right note of grief into her voice.

"Of course. Do as your mother bids you Henry, stick close to the house." Doris said.

"Yes, Ma'am," Henry said before hugging his mother and stepping out.

Doris settled at the head of the table and opened a binder she always seemed to have around her as the women gathered around. "All right, tomorrow is Thanksgiving…"

"We're still having Thanksgiving?" JJ asked before she could stop herself.

"Of course," Doris gave her a level look. "The war has been successful, we have been blessed with our own country; we have much to be thankful for."

JJ nodded, "Of course."

On Friday there's going to be a service at the church for all those lost in the war, both to the Lord for joining the heathen side and for poor Will. That will take most of the day, but we'll have a fellowship supper midway through. Saturday is market day in town and then Sunday is church, which will also come with a fellowship supper. That's going to be a lot of cooking, let's see what we're all doing."

It quickly became apparent that there was little JJ could do to help out. "Is there anything you can cook?" Doris asked after parceling out all of the other assignments.

I'm the third best shot in the department, she thought. I can take down an Unsub twice my size. I can run a covert op for months on end. I can wrangle a press conference better than anyone else out there. "I can fry eggs." She said. "I can make macaroni and cheese…from a box. I can build a great salad. And I can make a perfect pasta carbonada."

"A perfect what?" Doris laughed. "Jenny, how did you all eat?"

JJ looked around to make sure no one was actually listening and leaned in. "Will's an outstanding cook." She said.

Doris gaped at her a minute and then sighed. "How are you with children?"

"Henry?"

"With more than one child; ever worked in a Sunday nursery or as a mother's helper?"

"Um, no…"

"Well, you're not going to be cooking or watching after the little ones. You do know how to wash dishes and load a dishwasher, don't you?" Doris asked

"Um, yeah, that was usually my job at home." JJ said

"And that will be your kitchen job here for the next little while, until you can start training up a bit. Now, school."

"Does that start up on Monday around here? Is there a bus?" How was she ever going to let Henry go for that long?

"Oh no. There are no government schools anymore. No more teaching children to be Socialists on our watch. No, it's up to parents to do for their children's education now."

Which is going to be hell on a lot of working women, JJ thought. Oh, right, there are no more working women. She wanted to ask what would happen to the women and children in the greater community but she needed to focus here. Henry was the priority. "At least I know what I'm going to be doing now." She said.

Doris smiled. "Yes you do."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

******Wednesday, November 22, 2017**

* * *

More tea went around. I will either loathe this stuff when I'm out of here or I'll love it, JJ thought.

"Do you know where Henry was in school?" Doris asked as she pulled a binder down off the bookshelf.

"Um, not exactly, Will went to the last parent teachers' conference."

"Where were you?"

Holding down on a cannibal who was threatening to chew out a woman's jugular. "Work," JJ said.

"Oh. Well, we can do his placement tests this afternoon. I am going to guess that you want to use the Classical curriculum with him."

"The Classical curriculum?"

"Yes. It's too intellectual for a lot of people, a parent almost has to have a college degree to keep up, but I assume you expect that he will go to college?"

"Yes." On that JJ was firm. She did not want her son falling behind if she could help it.

"Then that will be your best choice. This is will be your family management binder. In it you'll keep track of your schedule and calendar and his schoolwork as well as your own training."

"What are we going to be studying?" JJ asked.

"Depends on where he is developmentally. I'm going to suggest he start with Ancient History, that will also tie in bible studies and we can pick and choose what he covers the rest of the year. Next year he can do Medieval and include his church history." Doris looked around and lowered her voice. "That will also keep him away from the controversial material for a few years." JJ looked at her, surprised. Was she implying what she thought she was implying? Doris looked at her as if making up her mind and stood up. "Come on, let's go to the storage room and get your books. We haven't run a child through the Classical curriculum since Stephen Jr. I'm just glad we moved all the boxes here."

Once they were down in the storeroom with the door shut JJ turned to her companion. "Doris, I…"

"Just stop." Doris said. "I can't pretend to agree with all your beliefs and practices. If I didn't know Will and Henry I'd call you the most neglectful wife and mother I ever met."

JJ felt her anger rising. "I am not a neglectful mother!"

"Oh? When was the last time you cooked that boy a real homemade meal? When was the last time you attended one of his events at school? When was the last time you took him out to one of your fancy museums or parks for the day? When was the last time you even took him to church?"

"I…I…I was at work! What we do is important, we save lives!"

"I know. Steve told me what you used to do. That's the hell of it, most of you working college women are just spoiled, self-indulgent, brazen little monsters waving your wealth around, but now you. No, what you did actually was important. And I know that Will is happy with you and that he loves you. More importantly that boy is turning out as well as any father could hope so, even though you are exactly the kind of wife and mother I could never understand or condone, you must be doing something right. Knowing the circumstances of your courtship and his birth and after seeing the results with my own eyes I can only assume that the good Lord put your family together for a reason and it's sinful of us to keep you apart. There is no other explanation for that boy at all."

JJ was stunned. "Does that mean you'll help us get out of here?"

"Yes. I will not be party to contravening the will of the Lord. If there was a way I would help you to go now but at the moment there is not, at least not that I can see. Right now the best I can do is help you keep you and that boy safe and help you keep him on track. If you work with me you might have a chance."

An ally, JJ thought, where I least expected it. "Whatever it takes," she said.

"Good."

"What do I have to do?"

"Look after your son, teach him well and go along with learning to be a keeper of the home until we can see how to go about getting you over the border. And do what I told you to upstairs."

"Keep my head down and don't draw unwanted attention. Got it." JJ turned to look at the boxes of books down on the shelves. "So what will we be studying?"

"Henry will cover Ancient History, like I said, Spelling and Penmanship, critical thinking, grammar and writing, mathematics, and Latin if we can get him to sit still for it."

"His godfather actually speaks Latin." JJ said. "I'll tell Henry it's a secret language they can share; he'll eat it with a spoon."

"Do you play an instrument?" Doris asked

"Piano, not that I'm all that great."

"Then piano and we'll have him do nature study for science; that will keep him out of trouble there. A schedule that packed will keep him close to you and away from the older boys as well."

"Do you think that will be a problem?"

"They can play rough. We encourage the boys to play the rough-and-tumble boy games, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians…"

"Soldiers." Of course. "You're afraid they're going to paint Henry as the enemy." JJ said.

"He is their cousin from up north. Better to keep him at your skirts as much as we can, schoolwork is the best way to go about it. You get to start with basic cooking and nutrition, home organization, time and household management, sewing and quilting, and knitting. You'll also need to start a bible study, learn church history and catch up with the lecture and sermon series. Here," she pulled down small, old-school boom-box. "I'll find some headphones; you can take this up to your room and listen while you knit." As she handed it over she tapped something on the top.

JJ looked where she was indicating. The unit came with a multiband radio. It would be able to pick up almost anything broadcast, even from over the new borders. "Henry's godmother tried to teach me how to knit when I was pregnant with him." JJ admitted. "I never had the time to really sit down and start anything." But it will give me an excuse to sit and listen for anything that might help.

Doris smiled. "Hopefully you won't have time to finish what you start."

* * *

.

* * *

Footnotes where they usually are.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

******Thursday, November 23, 2017**

* * *

Will came out of the bedroom he was sharing with Morgan looking grumpy and rumpled. "Aren't you two up early?" He asked.

Spencer and Penelope had staked out opposite ends of the couch, so as to have the most room for blankets and pillows from their beds and large mugs of coffee and in Penelope's case her knitting. "Parade." She said, wagging a knitting needle at the television. "It's tradition."

"They're still having it?" Will asked.

"Yeah." Spencer said. "They said they had to reassign some people, and cut it down by a quarter, but it's still going on. It's a morale booster, showing that our world continues even though the other side is trying to take over."

"Wonder if they're watching it."

"The news was on before this." Penelope said. "They said that the other side cut the lines, like physically cut, so probably not."

"Too bad. JJ and Henry love that thing. They say anything else?"

"Yeah, that the states over in the east that didn't secede have decided to become the New England Republic and that as of late last night we are each other's most favored ally and trading partner and all that sort of thing and we are also allying with Canada and Mexico but they probably won't make it formal until after the holiday."

"So we're ringing the bastards." Will said as he poured himself some coffee. "I can get with that."

"We are." Spencer said. "Apparently the UN is blockading their ports. Hopefully this means that they took what Dr. Cain was saying about immigrants to heart."

"Good. Maybe JJ can get out that way." Just then the kitchen timer went off. Penelope hurried over to the stove to do something. "We're still having dinner tonight?" Will asked

"Morgan's family is. We said we'd bring something over." Spencer nodded at Penelope. "I don't know what but we're bringing something."

"I know the idea of being thankful for anything probably seems crazy right now." Penelope said. "But no one is dead. You're here. You're safe. They're safe. Sometimes you just have to be grateful for the basics, you know. You just have to get up and keep moving or else you stagnate and you're not good for anything."

Will scowled down at his coffee. "I guess you're right about the getting up and moving bit."

Penelope patted his arm gently. "It's a start."

"Are they going to have football today?" Will asked

"They said they were showing re-runs." Spencer said. "Most NFL Leagues are now on Brethren territory."

"Of course they are."

* * *

"Let's have a parade!"

The Grand Marshall in New York cut the ribbon, the bands and floats started rolling, and the Nock sisters started sniffling. Matt Cain looked at the two of them and held out a box of tissues.

They each took one. "Grandma loved this." Caran sniffed.

"Remember how she used to sit with us every year?" Rian asked.

"Yeah." Her sister replied.

Both sisters were curled up on the couch watching the parade as they did every year that Rian was home. Matt looked at them, mystified. "I still do not understand this." He said.

"It's a primal wound." His other sister-in-law said as looked up at him from her seat in the wing chair. Delia Nock-Garza still spoke with the soft Latino accent of her childhood, even though she now had two children and sliver starting to show in her hair. "Their mother was an unavailable narcissist so they emotionally bonded with the grandmother who nurtured them. This is still part of mourning."

"She died thirty years ago." Matt said.

"I know you can't understand, Matt. Just trust me on this."

"Right." Matt said.

"Besides, if they had bonded with their mother she would be here for dinner."

Matt winced. "Good point."

The three women went back to their parade and their coffee and the knitting on their laps just as a buzzer went off in the depths of the kitchen. "One of you two go." Delia said. "I don't know how to cook that Yankee crap you insist upon every year." She teased gently.

The other women chuckled. "Seventeen years babe and it's still Yankee crap. This is why we make you cook for Christmas. I'll go." Rian said as she unfolded herself. "I'm not on a shaping row. Hey." This was to the two kids coming in from the backyard. "Nothing to do out there?"

"It's raining." Nick said. He was thirteen and gangly and while not yet troublesome you could sense that it was under his skin, just waiting for the right spark to toss him headlong into adolescence.

Molly, his ten year old sister, flung herself over the back of the couch. "Aunt Caran can we play with some of the toys upstairs?"

"Nope." Caran said. "Those are your cousin's and he is not here to say yes or no."

"How come we don't know his name?" Molly asked.

"Because he wants to pick a new one when he joins our family." Caran said. "He asked us not to share his current one and we respect that." She looked down at her knitting and took in big, shaky breath like she was going to cry again.

Matt looked at his wife, his expression blank. "Do you kids want to play _Planetside II_?" He asked them. They replied with a chorus of cheers so he hurried them off to the den.

Delia reached over and gave her sister-in-law a comforting pat. "He'll be here to watch the parade next year." She said. "He and Nick will be outside throwing balls at each other and getting filthy dirty before dinner. He'll even wear that sweater you're making him and it will fit."

"I hope so." Caran said as she smiled through her tears. "I hope so."

* * *

There was no parade out at the old plantation, unless you counted the parade of dirty dishes. It was at least as long as the parade in New York, only much less musical. By the time they sat down for dinner JJ was hot and tired and sore. Her feet ached and her back ached and her hands ached and itched from all the hot water and soap. And she was starving from a day of saving room for the big supper.

But when they sat down for dinner it still wasn't time to eat. "Let us pray." Uncle Steve said, causing everyone to obediently bow their heads. "Dear Lord we give thanks today for the bounty of the harvest and for blessing of foresight you have given us to put away for the winter to come. And we give you thanks for our family gathered here around us in peace and security within the nation you have given us…"

Uncle Steve droned on and on, thanking god for not only the usual Thanksgiving things but also for victories in war and politics. If she hadn't already worked so hard that day JJ thought she would have lost her appetite. And she wasn't the only one, she could see Henry's hands, folded in prayer, and how his knuckles were growing red, then white, as he clenched his hands tighter and tighter.

Finally it was over and the food started going around. That was when one of the younger husbands stood up. "I'd like to offer a toast." He said, lifting his glass of apple cider. "To the good old US of A. May she rest in pieces."

That got a laugh from the men and boys at the table, and smiles from the women. All except for JJ and Henry. Laughter and chatter started up, but Henry just stared at his plate as his mother began adding food to it. "Do you want to try a yam this year?" JJ asked him quietly.

In response Henry bolted from the table and ran out of the room. In the near silence that followed his footsteps could be heard on the stairs.

"I'll go." JJ said quietly to Doris as she rose from her spot. She hurried upstairs after Henry only to find that he had thrown himself across his bed and was shaking. "What?" She asked as she sat beside him on the bed.

In response he threw himself into her arms just as the bedroom door opened. "Everything all right?" One of the younger wives, Shelly, asked.

Henry babbled out something high pitched and unclear, except for the word "dad".

"Ohhh." Shelly said. "First holiday, that's right."

Let their own assumptions misguide them JJ thought. "Yeah. Just give us a few, we'll be back down."

"Okay." Shelly didn't close the door all the way. JJ heard her walk downstairs and the chatter go quiet when she got to the dining room. "Poor little man's missing his daddy, that's all."

JJ got up and closed the door, latching it this time. Then she returned to her son. "Want your dad?" She asked.

Henry finally looked up at her. It wasn't grief in his eyes, it was anger, hot and bright, but it brought tears anyway. "I hate them!" He said as he threw himself into her arms. "I hate them! They ruined everything! They took my Dad away, and our family away and my friends! They took our house away! They took everything! And they've been laughing about it Mom! They ruined everything and they think it's the best thing in the world!"

"I know. I know."

"It's crazy!"

"I know."

"How can they be crazy like that?"

"Because it makes sense to them." JJ held her son close and rubbed a soothing pattern on his back. "Something I learned at work, an Unsub does what he does because it makes perfect sense to him."

"It's crazy." Henry insisted

"To us it is. To them it's not."

"I hate them."

"I know." JJ hugged him close as his adrenalin dropped and he sagged against her, his sobs slowing. "But right now we need to pretend to be crazy like they are. It's the only way to stay safe. Think you can go downstairs and do that again?" Henry sniffled for a little while but then he stopped and nodded. "Good. When we get downstairs I want you to apologize to Uncle Steve for leaving the table without permission and causing a fuss. And call him sir when you do it, okay?" He leaned back and looked up at her. "I know." She said again. "But we have to play along."

"Okay."

"Here." She fished her phone out of her pocket and tucked the earbuds in his ears. "Listen to your father again. He's going to see Penelope and Spencer and Derek. That's our family out there. They didn't ruin everything. They only think they did. So let them brag and laugh, they don't know everything."

Henry listened and smiled. "They don't know everything."

"No. We still have a family. We still have something to be thankful for."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Friday, November 24, 2017**

* * *

Friday was the memorial service for all those lost to the enemy, which included Will. It was unlike any other memorial service JJ had ever seen. No one spoke about Will, about the good he had done or how he was in heaven or about the family he had left behind. Except for a brief mention of praying for their dear departed cousin there was nothing at all.

There was a lot of railing against the enemy, of their evil, sinful natures, of the perverted things they did. When it started going into an uncomfortably detailed rant about homosexuality JJ nudged Henry and slid the bible from her lap to his. "Read." She whispered in his ear.

"It's boring." He whispered back. "I want to listen."

"Spencer memorized it."

"Really?"

"Yep."

Henry bent his head and started reading.

JJ tucked his head against her shoulder, casually covering his ears as she did so. Must learn to bake cookies, she thought, and bake some for Spence when we see him again.

The ranting continued but JJ blocked it out easily enough. As she did she took that mental step back, detaching herself so she could observe and consider the situation analytically. It was warm in the church, warmer still in their good clothes, just about body temperature. It was deathly still other than the preacher. Everyone was holding nearly stock still, minimizing both blood flow and sensory input. The preacher was standing on a large, slightly raised dais at the front of the room, and was pacing back and forth in front of the crowd. Back and forth while ranting in this rhythmic, sing-song voice….

JJ blinked rapidly and shook her head. Trance state, she thought, this whole space and set-up was designed to lull people into a trance state, to slow their brainwaves to what most called Theta levels, where they were most easily influenced and where what they heard would be impressed upon their subconscious. And what was being fed to their subconscious was the most arousing violent and sexual imagery you could imagine. She turned back in briefly and realized that he was ranting in detail about certain alternative sexual practices, which made her tighten her hold on her son for a moment. She didn't see anything wrong with anything two consenting adults wanted to do in the privacy of their homes and bedrooms, but Henry was way too young to learn about this sort of thing. And yet here were his cousins and their friends being impressed with this imagery.

Then the pastor started going into equally graphic detail over what ought to be done to those who practiced such activities. Slowly but surely he built up the passion of his rhetoric, transmitting the sexual arousal his previous words had brought to arousal by violence, by the thought of bloodshed, by the desire to take out their unsatisfied needs on the body of their enemies. JJ was reminded of the time they made it to a tornado shelter with moments to spare, the energy that seemed to fill the room was dark and whirling and sucking everyone in. She could feel the desire for blood coming from them.

They're being brainwashed, she thought; brainwashed into being the perfect psychopath, the perfect Unsub, taking physical pleasure in hurting others. Brainwashed times the five hundred or so in this building times how many churches across the country? And our liberal churches are not like that if we even bother to go, so we never realized at all.

* * *

**Saturday, November 25, 2017**

* * *

The next day was market day. Everyone in the family piled in to their vans to head into the nearest town to go shopping and, from what JJ could tell, to attend some kind of rally down at the courthouse. On the plus side this meant that she didn't have to put a cloth over her head. On the negative side that meant a hat of some kind, and not a baseball cap either. She chose the simplest sunhat they had in the storeroom, and took a look before the mirror. Weird, she thought. I don't look that bad.

Before they left Doris called the older teen boys around her. "Everyone draw a straw." She said, holding out the bundle in her hand. Jimmy, whose long limbs and acne proclaimed him still in the throes of puberty, drew the unfortunate straw. "You'll be driving Jenny and me around on the small errands today." She told him. "We will not be attending at the courthouse this week."

JJ could tell from the slight change in micro-expression on Jimmy's face that he was disappointed and wanted to argue, but he was raised to instant obedience. "Yes, Ma'am," he said.

"You won't have to draw a straw again until all the other boys have had a turn." Doris said.

That mollified him. "Yes, Ma'am, thank you."

Doris turned to JJ. "Henry will be coming with us. It will do him well to learn patience."

And to stay with her. "Yes, Ma'am," JJ said. "What are small errands?"

"Errands where we only have to pick up a few small things. It takes a lot of bodies to get through the grocery store or Walmart with this crowd, assuming they're even still open with the blockade and all. But all those people get in the way at the book shop or the fabric store. We'll go run all of those errands. Trust me that alone will keep us busy all day. I want you to come with us so you can pick out your own workbasket and tools."

And to keep me and Henry away from whatever is at the courthouse, JJ thought. "Yes, Ma'am, thank you." She said.

"Now here, this is for Henry." She handed over an iPad Nano. "It will keep him occupied in the car in case we want to talk. I loaded on a bunch of old radio and audiobooks off the church download site. Robinson Caruso, Treasure Island, The Lone Ranger, all sorts of things a boy would love."

JJ smiled as she didn't even have to nudge Henry. "Thank you Aunt Doris." He said.

Doris smiled. "Off we go then."

* * *

.

* * *

Note: I added dates for those who wanted to know how old Henry is. The Criminal Minds Wiki lists his official birthday as October 28, 2008 so he's nine at the beginning of this story. I tend to picture the rest of the team active in this story in their 30's, and the adults in the Nock-Cain family are in their 40's


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Saturday, November 25, 2017**

* * *

Once in the car she quickly found out that the iPod was to keep Henry from listening to the radio that Jimmy had on. They were talking about having a live show of the justice event at the courthouse that day. "What are they doing down there?" JJ asked.

"Getting rid of a bunch of perverts," Jimmy said.

"Perverts?"

"Yeah. Faggots mostly. Finally getting rid of those freaks. Giving them what they deserve." Jimmy was all smiles when he said it, rocking back and forth in his seat a little as he drove like he had an itch. "Ain't gonna have to make nice to them anymore. No more of this civil rights junk."

"Aren't going to," Doris corrected him. She reached over and snapped a preset to a classical station. "Ladies do not need to listen to such things."

Not an itch, JJ realized. He's becoming aroused at the thought, the combination of sex and violence has become a paraphilia. Do I want to know what they do to openly homosexual people here? If I do I'd be bound by my oath to stop it, wouldn't I? But what about Henry? Protecting my son comes first, Hotch would understand that.

They stopped at the fabric shop first. Jimmy waited in the car, probably to listen to the radio. When they went in JJ planted Henry in a chair by the register and told him to read the book he had with him or listen to the iPod or both while she shopped. To keep herself from thinking about what was going on down at the courthouse she caught up with Doris and started another topic. "I thought women weren't allowed to work." She said, nodding at the older woman behind the register.

"As a general rule," Doris said. "There are exceptions, of course. Women can work in family-run businesses, such as this shop, or their husband's office. And a business can apply for a ninety day transition period while they train men to take over for women. Now, do you prefer a basket or bag?"

"Yeah, but some jobs require more than ninety days to train for. Nurses, for example," JJ said. "I have no idea."

"Let's do a bag for your main work, then, and a box to hold floss and other, lesser used supplies. Pick one of these and one of these and a tool bag from over here and I'll start collecting your tools. You'll want a bag with lots of pockets. Nurses are a special case. Single women with medical training can apply to become nursing sisters."

"And no one is worried about them seeing naked men?" Some of these bags were actually kinda cute, in a Penelope Garcia kind of way. She picked the one that both reminded her of her friend and had images of London in the pattern for Emily. I miss them, she thought, I just hope I can talk to them again.

"Women aren't as visual as men are, and any man who wants them will know that they aren't as innocent as some. But they'll still be decent women and wives; they'll have to take vows of obedience to the church and chastity until marriage, move to hospital provided housing and so on, but they'll still have a fair amount of autonomy. Married women will only be allowed to stay on until enough single train up for it."

"But what if those women need those jobs, to pay for their mortgages or…" The diabolical intent was beginning to dawn on JJ. "They'll default. Foreclosure, bankruptcy…slavery."

"If they want to keep their family together," Doris said. "Otherwise it's debtor's prison and the orphanage. But with nursing skills they could be easily bought back by the hospital, given housing, clothing and food coupons and allowed to stay together. Let's see, seam ripper, needle threader, hem gauge…"

"Without getting paid."

Doris shrugged. "But with their debts erased and the security our system grants them. There are many people in this world who would be much more comfortable with that security, knowing that they never need worry about a roof over their head or food on the table or what they are going to do in their old age. Measuring tape, chalk marker and chalk, water soluble pens, we'll get some ultra fine ones at the paper goods store…"

"And given the economy of scale it would probably save the corporations a fortune. Much less payroll, no social welfare taxes, no need to worry about worker's safety rules…"

The older woman smiled. "You're getting it. Scissors," they were down the aisle a bit.

"You said that many who would be more comfortable that way, how do you know who those are?"

"Dressmaking shears for fabric, utility scissors for paper, fine points for embroidery and a small pair for your work basket. They got themselves into debt. If they had valued their freedom they wouldn't have enslaved themselves to the bank in the first place. Oh, and a rotary cutter for patchwork."

"So you're saying no one in the family owes anyone any money. Do I really need all this?"

"No, of course none of us owe anyone money." Doris sounded shocked at the idea. "None of us are slaves in any way. Do you and Will?"

JJ opened her mouth but stopped. Sure, she used a credit card on the road, but they had always been careful to pay it off every month. And they were a month ahead on all their bills, that way they wouldn't have to worry if one of them was injured and they had to wait for the injury insurance to kick in. They had always been so careful to live within their means just because they didn't want the stress of being in debt. Even when Henry was young and Will stayed home they had managed it. "No." She answered, disquieted by this agreement.

"See." Doris smiled. "The Lord was working in your life Jenny, even if you did not see Him there. A good workbasket is a comfort to a keeper of the home. You'll want all of these things in the future when the winter settles in and there is lots of time for projects to be finished."

"Projects?"

"Trust me." Doris said with a smile.

"What's going on at the courthouse?" JJ asked.

Doris stepped closer. "A woman in your profession shouldn't ask after anything outside of errands today." She said quietly. "Now let's fit you for a thimble."

* * *

Morgan, Spencer and Will stared in horror at the smoldering pile that had been a shopping mall full of shoppers on this Black Saturday. "How many bombs went off today?" Spencer asked.

"Twelve." SSA Moss said, "In Pacifica alone. We don't have reports from the NER yet. Think domestic terrorism is going to be a factor?"

"It's not domestic anymore." Morgan said.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Friday, December 18, 2017**

Three weeks into the life of the new nation and things were starting to settle out. The San Francisco City Hall, now the nation's capitol, was done up in silver and gold for the holiday. Once the world economy shook off the shock they realized that Pacifica had the fifth largest GDP in the world, right around France in fact, and so their new currency, the Pacific Dollar, stabilized in no time. The five states were also able to support themselves without agricultural imports and produced enough oil to export, allowing them to join several multinational groups including OPEC. As a result international trading went on without a hitch and other than the occasional bare shelves where certain brands were no longer available and the ever present threat of terrorism, the season buzzed on.

"I hate this." Will said as he sat down at the table.

They were back at Coffee Smith, making the afternoon snack run. Morgan was the new Unit Chief of the smaller BAU and had hired Will on simply because he had picked up so much over the years with JJ. Besides, even though he hadn't had any formal profiler training his instincts were spot on. He was chugging through all the training material as they went. But the team's newest member was also spending a goodly chunk of his time going from office to office looking for help. "Nothing?" He asked.

"No." Will slumped and ran his fingers through his hair. "The Red Cross is still trying to get in there, the UN has no word listed on when people can get out…I'm just a pain in their ass and they're trying to get rid of me. You can tell."

Morgan sighed. The mountains between here and the Brethren Republic were full of snow now, UN troops trying to maintain a tense cease-fire and Brethren Guerillas who did not seem to get the message. There were no flights going in or out, no communication and a complete naval blockade until the Brethren Council allowed UN inspectors access to the old US WMD program and to offer humanitarian aid inside their borders. Everyone was hoping the gridlock would break by the New Year but nothing was guaranteed. "I know." He said. "Maybe Emily…"

"Yeah, yeah. Everyone is trying." Will rubbed his reddened eyes and sat back. "I don't even know if I should do for them for Christmas."

"I think you should."

"Yeah, but what are the chances that they'll be here?" Will asked.

That's not the point." Morgan said.

"Then what is the point?"

"That they'll get here eventually and that you were thinking about them for Christmas."

"Yeah, that's true." Will thought for a moment. "Think they'll like it here?"

Morgan considered this. The new country was starting to develop its own vibe, less of the angry harshness of the old US, with its constant on the edge of a fight feel, more a laid-back mellow vibe like its neighbor to the north, with a kick of energy that could only come from relief. In many, many ways it was still the country it had been, same freedoms, same drive, but now it was more open, more accepting. Gay rights were affirmed now, and universal health care and a dozen other things the traitors had fought against in the last days of the republic. This was a good place with a good, solid future ahead. "I think they'll feel right at home."

"I do hope so. What should I get them?"

"Well, Henry is still into Lego's, yeah?" Morgan waved an acknowledgement at a familiar face coming in

"Yeah, that'll work." Will thought a moment more. "I know what I'm doing for JJ too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Kinda personal though."

Morgan chuckled. "That's the best kind."

All of a sudden the building shook as a loud boom rattled between the buildings. The glass on the front window cracked and car alarms started shrieking. "Earthquake?" Morgan asked as he reached out for his balance.

"Doesn't feel like one." The barista said, "Unless it was a foreshock."

"How long before the main event if it is?"

"Two minutes."

But it didn't take that long to find out. People were running up the street, all in the same direction. Will opened the door. "What happened?" He called out.

"Explosion at the State Building!" Someone called back.

Will and Morgan looked at each other and then started running toward the explosion. There went their coffee break.

* * *

Ever since Thanksgiving JJ's life had settled into a quiet pattern.

Every morning she got up and did a quiet workout in their room for an hour. Lots of sit ups, push-ups, dips, stretches and whatever else she could think of to keep her body strong and solid since running or going to the gym was out of the question. After her shower she got Henry up and moving, and went downstairs for tea and toast and soft cheese for her and oatmeal and whatever breakfast meat was in the offing that morning for him. Then she washed dishes while he carefully swept the workroom and study fires clean and took out the coals, and then used the safety splitter to chop wood and bring it in to stock the fireboxes. All this was done while the other boys were doing their farm chores because she refused to allow him in the barn. She'd tried, once, because Steve was insisting he work with the other boys, but the dogs were in there and Charles Hankel had used the exact same child-rearing manual on his son that they used on all the boys and she'd had an honest-to-god flashback that had scared even Steve so they had compromised. This way he could do his fair share of the chores while she could keep an eye on him.

The rest of the day was spent on his schoolwork, going over it with him to get him started on a topic, then settling back for her own work while he took off with it. After lunch they would take a long walk out to some part of the farm to do a science exploration, while getting something that passed for aerobics, and then more of his work and hers until afternoon tea. Her own work was learning to bake and cook, clean a house, keep records, knit and sew; all to Doris's exacting standards. Thankfully not everyone's standards were that high. "This is really good Mom." Henry said as he finished off a slice of the apple-nut bread she had made that day."

"Thank you sweetie," JJ said with a smile.

"This came out quite nice Jenny." Doris said. "Tomorrow you should try with blueberries. That ought to come out a touch lighter."

"Yes, Ma'am," JJ settled back in her chair on the porch and pulled her knitting back in her lap. A month ago she would never had stayed up here, sitting with the women listening to the radio and knitting an endless series of dishcloths as she learned different techniques. She would have gone down and gotten into the stickball game the boys were playing in the farmyard, Henry included since it was all in plain sight. She would never have realized how relaxing and safe just being with other women could feel.

At least until she tuned in to what the radio announcer was saying. "…an explosion today in the federal plaza in San Francisco, the capitol of Pacifica. Our troops scored a victory in the fight today. According to reports…"

Federal Plaza, she thought, the team might be down there. Will might be down there. And there's no way to know.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**Monday, December 25, 2017**

On the night of the 25th JJ took Henry off to bed right after dinner. She was tired, she said, and she thought he might be coming down with the cough that seemed to be overtaking the children. Once upstairs she latched the door and looked at her son as he slumped on his bed. "Cheer up." She said.

"It's not Christmas without Dad." Henry said. "It's not even Christmas."

JJ sighed. Until the announcement of the bombing in San Francisco the biggest bone of contention had been that the Brethren refused to celebrate Christmas. Not Christian they said; a pagan celebration with a gloss of false Christianity over top. There were lambs at the nativity, which meant it had to be in the spring. They would figure it out and let people know. Meanwhile Christmas was declared pagan, and with people beginning to get the sense of what that meant there wasn't a decoration to be seen or a carol to be heard.

But JJ had other ideas. "It might be." She said. "Get into your pajamas, we'll see in a little bit."

"Okay."

Once Henry was in his pajamas she got into hers and dragged her blankets over to the floor beside his bed, where she could curl up in the warmth from the space heater. Then she parked the radio there and turned it on low. "What are we listening for?" Henry asked.

"Shhh. It'll be a minute. In the meantime we have this." She got up and went over to her wardrobe. Buried in the back was a tiny Christmas tree. It was only six inches tall, but it had tiny lights and she'd made ornaments out of buttons and a garland out of sparkly embroidery floss.

Henry managed a smile. "Where did you get that?'

"Santa."

"There is no Santa."

"Okay, how about I'm not telling?" JJ asked. She had actually received it from Doris, who had said that while the other children didn't expect anything she knew Henry would, just keep it where no one would see. She reached under the bed and came up with a gift wrapped in newsprint. "If there's no Santa then where did this come from?"

Henry's eyes were wide as he opened the gift. "A hat?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's the first real thing I ever knitted." She said, pulling it over his head. It fit well enough, maybe a little big but he would grow. "Okay, not the most exciting Christmas gift. Work with me here."

"I think it's awesome Mom." Said in that I'm-working-with-it, almost-at-puberty, humor-the-grown-ups voice

"It looks good on you. And I have Christmas candy." She pulled a small bag of chocolate kisses out of her workbag. "And a copy of a Christmas Carol to read and we can sing our own carols if we want."

"Cool."

"And something else too." JJ said.

"What?" Henry asked

In reply JJ checked her watch and turned on the radio. It was permanently set to the station where they got the clearest reception to the BBC, that thin line of sound shimmering in the darkness, linking them to the rest of the world. After a moment the announcer came back on, "Coming up, an interview with a member of the Pacifica Bureau of Investigation on the recent spate of bombings in the country."

"Think they'll say something about Dad?" Henry asked.

"Better than that I hope," JJ said.

A few moments later the announcer came back. "Welcome to The Interview. Before the breakup of the United States one of the little known but most famed units was the Behavioral Analysis Unit, commonly known as the BAU, a unit dedicated to hunting serial violent offenders, mainly murderers. The unit was renowned for its ability to get into the minds of the killers, to analyze the patterns of behavior and predict their next move, often stopping them before they killed again. Criminals known as the Fox, the Boston Reaper, the Seattle Strangler and Los Angeles's Prince of Darkness are all on their captured list. They were also critical in stopping a number of organizations including two militant Islamic groups, a number of international crime rings, a human trafficking ring and a breakaway wing of the IRA. During the breakup the team unfortunately split in two, with one moving to work with Interpol and the other joining the nascent Pacifica Bureau of Investigation. Tonight on the Interview we speak with the Unit Chief of the Pacifica BAU, Derek Morgan. Good evening Agent Morgan."

JJ felt happy tears coming to her eyes and saw them in her son's as Morgan's warm voice issued from the radio speaker. "Good Morning."

"Now, can you tell me a little more about the history of the BAU?" The interviewer asked.

The interview went on for a good twenty minutes. Morgan's great at it, she thought, he's got a good, easy pace and he's making it all accessible. We should have put him in front of the cameras more often.

But all good things have to end. "Well, thank you very much for your time Agent Morgan. Given that we are heard all over the world and are being broadcast over the border into the Brethren Republic is there anything that you'd like to say?"

"I'd just like to say that we're all good out here." Morgan said with a smile in his voice. "Me, Doc, Baby Girl and Nola are all doing just fine, still walking around healthy. And our former boss and his family and Agent Rossi whom we spoke of, our other doc and my former partner are all working with my former partner and doing just fine. Everyone is good, we're just hoping this will all be made right soon."

"As do we all. This has been The Interview…."

JJ turned off the radio with a smile. "They're all okay." She said with relief in her voice.

"Are you sure?" Henry asked.

"Derek would have said something somehow if they weren't. Doc has to be Spence, right, and we know that Penelope is Morgan's baby girl. Hotch and his family and Dave and Alex are out in London with Emily, she was Derek's partner. That's everyone he mentioned except…"

"…Nola. New Orleans, Louisiana." Henry grinned. "That's Dad!"

"Yeah, your Dad's okay!" JJ reached up and hugged him. "Does that make for a better Christmas?"

* * *

Back in Oakland Garcia switched off the radio. "Think they heard it?" She asked.

"They are broadcasting over the border as a form of propaganda." Spencer said. "JJ would know to look for something like that."

"I just wish you could have gone on." Morgan said

"It's all right." Will said. "At least they heard a friendly voice for Christmas."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**Sunday, January 13, 2018**

"How did Henry behave at church?" Doris asked.

"To our standards." JJ replied. He had behaved remarkably well in fact. Yes, he had squirmed some, especially as he grew more tired, but she had put him between the wall and her body next to one of the family "sister-mothers", a girl barely in her teens who was looking after her toddler age sister and so was too busy to notice. "I'll take him upstairs with me so he doesn't distract the others,"

Doris nodded. "Thank you Jenny."

As a reward for behaving in church JJ fired up her tablet and let Henry play Angry Birds with her earbuds in for a while. In the meantime she peeked out the door at the other families. Two others were staying on their floor as well as Steve and Doris, and from here she could see into one of the other bedrooms. As she watched one of the children left the room, trying to stifle their sobs and another went in and lowered his pants before the door completely shut. JJ blinked at this and then looked over the line of children standing there. The older, even adult, daughters weren't there to marshal the little ones, she realized, they were there to receive their own punishment. No wonder this whole society is twisted, she thought, I can't leave Henry alone for more than five minutes, I just don't dare.

She didn't watch anymore, she couldn't. She shut the door and latched it and went to play video games with her son.

* * *

Later, when it was nearly time to start preparing supper, she and Henry headed back downstairs. As she followed him down something caught her ear. Someone in that room was still being punished; she could hear the sound of leather hitting flesh. But the girls had all come out long ago, who was still in there? "Stay with Aunt Doris." She told Henry, "I need to fix a hairpin."

JJ waited until she thought someone was coming out. It was Michael, one of Will's cousins first. He was a huge man in his thirties, tall, broad in the torso, more confident than the others. He was the kind who kept up his body like Morgan did, and had been in construction so he felt comfortable with his physical prowess. He went popping down the stairs with an efficient, job-well-done sort of air. She waited another few moments and then stepped out just as the other door opened.

It was Shelly, Michael's wife. She came out as she was patting her clothing into place. JJ noticed the widened eyes and giddy affect of someone who had just had a sexual experience. But she would have heard that, there was no indication of that between them. Michael certainly hadn't acted like a man just coming from a quickie. "Are you all right?" She asked quietly.

"Yes." She said, blushing slightly. "I just…I've been more upset over everything than was warranted and…well…sometimes you just need to be chastized."

Oh God. JJ nodded as if in agreement. "Sometimes you just need that…release."

"Yeah. Everything's better now." Shelly said with a smile before heading downstairs.

Great, JJ thought. This is what happens when you train your children to associate arousal with violence and don't give them any other tools; you end up with a full blown paraphillia, on both sides. And they call us the perverts. I need to get us out of here. As soon as possible.

* * *

**Saturday, February 10, 2018**

After the holidays, winter set in in earnest. It was a bad time for the Brethren Republic. The blockade of their ports and the freezing of their bank accounts stifled all trade. Shortages became an issue across the board. But somehow Doris still managed to come up with a full day's worth of "small" errands every Saturday, trips that took them to small businesses on side roads, well away from the courthouse and main square, to shops that seemed to have stocked up on more than enough inventory to weather any length of blockade.

One weekly stop was a used bookstore, one guaranteed to not have any objectionable material. JJ always let Henry have some of his share of their allowance there, and always spent a little herself. There was little time for pleasure reading during their days, but she usually managed some. This life seemed so empty when we started, she thought, and now it seems so full.

It was back in the section on travel when she found them. A young couple, college students by the look of them, too thin and too worn from what was happening, was poring over an atlas of the western US. When they saw her, in her obviously sectarian garb, their eyes widened in guilt and fear. "It's okay." JJ said very quietly. She looked around to be sure Henry was close enough and Doris was far enough away. "I'm not going to get you in trouble."

They gauged her obvious sincerity and relaxed a little. "Thanks." The girl said as the boy moved away, knowing he'd be in trouble for talking to a church woman.

"What are you looking at?" JJ asked.

The girl showed her. It was a topo map of north-eastern California. "We have to get out of here." She said. "We can't make it work on one salary and we have student loans coming due. You know what that means, don't you?"

JJ looked around again. "Did you try getting married?" There had been more marriages, in the past three months than in the history of the state. Marriage came with benefits now, usually a cash bonus of some kind to give a family a new start.

"Yeah. It wasn't enough. We don't have anyone who can help us, his Mom already went in, divorced you know? And my parents are no help; they already went into the system too. They were underwater on their mortgage and they needed to protect my little sister." She looked at her husband again. "We were going to drive as far as we could and then walk it."

Walk it? Was this possible? JJ looked at the map again. "Where do you have to walk from?"

"Over the Sierras. There's the Mexico fence, right, and the patrols are real thick along the Canadian border and there's a lot of fighting to the east but we figured we could sneak through the mountains."

"What about the snow this time of year?" JJ asked. "Have you ever even hiked that far?"

The woman shook her head. "What other choice do we have?"

"Jenny." Doris called.

Better they not be caught together. JJ backed away. "Good luck." She whispered as she went. Walking over the mountains, she thought. Was it even possible?

Probably not. But it did leave her a small spark of hope.

* * *

Eventually the snow started melting and the world did re-open the Brethren borders but not before some concessions were made. They had to work with the UN, allow in WMD inspectors, allow Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross in to help with the movement of immigrants out of the country, and to stop the direct attacks on the borders.

Unfortunately that last proved impossible.

When the UN caught Brethren raiders trying to spike the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, and thus the San Francisco water supply, with deadly toxins they finally succumbed to the inevitable. Demilitarized zones would have to be set up, primarily within the old United States borders since that was where the Brethren were concentrating their anger. The Brethren, of course, refuse to give up an inch of territory. More than that, a vote was taken and the vast majority of people in eastern Washington and Oregon State wanted to join the Brethren Republic.

Thankfully Pacifica and the NER had no problem signing on to the deal. In the east the UN took over a swath twenty five miles wide at its narrowest point. With crude efficiency they placed a ruler on the map from Ashtabula, Ohio down to Cape Hatteras and declared it the eastern border of the Brethren Republic. Then they drew another from to Erie, Pennsylvania to Bogues Bay in Virginia. Then they started resettling everyone within those borders. This, of course, gave them complete control over the naval bases around Norfolk, the Marine base at Quantico, the research facilities at Ft. Detrick and all of Washington DC which they immediately closed to everyone not present at the time of the handover, including former residents, for the duration of the crisis.

In the west they drew the borders along the slopes of the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada mountains, and through the Mojave Desert. This allowed them to protect many of the natural wonders of the area, Mts Ranier and Hood and St. Helens and Shasta in the north, Crater Lake, Mono Lake and Lake Tahoe along the spine, Yosemite Valley and Death Valley in the far south. It took in the major military bases in the south west, Twenty-nine Palms, Ft. Irwin, China Lake and Groom Lake. And most important it protected the major reservoirs and rivers that watered the cities of the west.

But as part of the package for letting the inspectors in, Mexico, Canada and the UN had to agree that anyone caught in the demilitarized zones would be returned to Brethren territory, where they would be dealt with as the Brethren saw fit. Pacifica and The New England Republic refused to make such deals, but the demilitarized zones were thought more than adequate to keep people from leaving. The one to the east was heavily patrolled but the one to the west was so long and rugged and empty that patrols were thin on the ground. Helicopters and even drones were useless in the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest and the high Sierras. And so word was passed, the west provided the only possible escape.

In ones, twos and threes, people began taking on the mountains.

* * *

.

* * *

Yes, this one comes with footnotes over at AO3. I did not make it all up.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**Monday, March 12, 2018**

"So I have good news." Garcia said. "And I have not-so-good news. And some really interesting news."

It was a lovely spring day in San Francisco, California. The BAU team was once again trying to crack the nut of the terrorists who kept bombing locations up and down the coast. Granted the number had dropped off since the DMZ was put in place, but they still happened just often enough to keep people on edge. "What's the good news baby girl?" Morgan asked.

"The UN has a highly confidential actual list of people they are trying to smuggle out of the Brethren Republic. But of course you know I'm good so I got a look at it and JJ and Henry are on it."

The three men looked at each other in shock. "Did we put them on it?" Spencer asked.

"No, Hotch did, the reason being that she's FBI. The not-so-good news is that they triaged the list and they are not near the top."

"Where are they on the list?" Will asked.

"Five hundred forty-four and Five hundred forty-five." Garcia winced as all three men sagged. "I know, I know but it's better than not being on there at all."

"Well who's at the top?" Morgan asked.

"The first twenty-two are all foster kids." Garcia said. "All of whom have severe medical problems, all of whom were being adopted by families out here in California so they could get treatment at UCSF and Stanford and UCLA, all of whom the Brethren are now refusing to let out or treat so their chances of dying are stupid high right now."

The table was quiet a moment. "JJ would insist." Will pointed out at last.

"Yeah, I know." Morgan said. "What's the interesting news?"

"The Brethren are not letting people _out_ but they are letting people _in_. They are having people fill out applications and then go to a transfer station and if they pass the interview they can just get on the train and go."

"Think we should try it?" Spencer asked them.

"We'd have a better chance of getting them out once we're in." Morgan said. "But I don't want to be seen as a traitor. Let's talk to Moss, see if we can set it up as undercover work."

* * *

**Monday, March 19, 2018**

A week later, with the blessing of the Pacifica Bureau and with backgrounds carefully covered up by their Tech Goddess the three men were sitting in the waiting room of the Sacramento train station, waiting to be called to interview booths. The plan was simple, say whatever they had to to get on the California Zephyr which would take them straight through to Chicago. From there they would board the City of New Orleans which would take them south to the lake. Once they had retrieved JJ and Henry, the family sure to give them over because Will was her husband, the couple would make the required covenantal marriage and be free to travel around the country. How they would then get over the border was not yet known but they'd come up with something. At least abuse and slavery would be off the table as options.

Spencer was a little nervous when his number was called. He had everything secure here. His Mom was set for the next ten years and he had introduced her to Garcia. While the two might not be fast friends they were comfortable enough for Garcia to go check on her regularly and he was comfortable with his friend holding his mother's powers of attorney should anything come up. With Mom settled his godson became his next priority. Getting Henry to safety was the most important thing. Still he was nervous as he stepped into the small booth and faced the man across the folding table. "Um, Hi, I'm…"

"Rejected." The man said. "Next!"

Spencer stopped and stared at him. He hadn't even had a chance to hand over his paperwork yet. "I'm sorry?"

"You should be. Next!"

"But…but why?"

"Because we are a decent. God-fearing nation. We don't want any queers coming in. And spare me any talk of civil rights." The man said with a sneer, looking up at Spencer with disgust. "Your kind doesn't have any rights with us so don't even bother."

"But I'm not…"

"Bull. Now get out of my booth, you're making me sick. Next!"

Spencer went and sat on the bench in front of the station, a little shocked at the raw homophobia coming off the man. There was no more need to hide it behind a polite mask, but still. Given his encounter though, he was not surprised when Morgan came out and joined him. "Let me guess, not taking anyone ethnic?"

"Oh, they'll take blacks. He carefully told me they are not racist." Morgan said as he sat next to his friend. "They're Kinist."

Spencer nodded. "Doctors. Cain and Cruz brought that up in their lecture, about how they believe that people belonged in extended family groups, clans or tribes, not mixed into residential areas like in modern society."

"Yeah, well apparently that makes race mixing a sin."

Ahhhh. "White mother, black father. I bet that's why Gordinski warned you out of there. We should have thought of that."

"Too late. Guy in there said it was a capital crime now." Morgan shook his head. "My parents loved each other. These bastards would have shot them for it. Dammed glad I got out."

"Maybe Will will have better luck." Spencer said.

If nothing else Will did get the full interview. While Spencer hadn't even been given the chance to sit down and Morgan's interview never got past the first page of the application packet Will got a full forty-five minutes before he was rejected. "Apparently I'm the wrong kind of Christian." He said. "I don't know if that bastard was trying to coach me on the right answers but I guess I just wasn't going there. He finally gave up. Damnit!" Will turned and kicked the trash can in frustration.

"It's all right man." Morgan said. "It wasn't the best plan anyway. We'll come up with a Plan B."

"Do we even have the start of a plan B?" Will asked.

"No." Morgan said. "But we are not giving up."

* * *

.

* * *

Footnotes where you find footnotes


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**Wednesday, April 04, 2018**

Some weeks later the BAU was once again working on the profile of the bombers. Ever since people were given the chance to leave with some money in their pockets the number of attacks had gone down but they had not ceased entirely so the work was not over. Today they were meeting with Dr. Cain to see if she could add anything to the profile. "Martyrdom." She said.

"Wouldn't that imply suicide bombers?" Morgans asked.

"Suicide is a sin. Making war on the heathen tribes is Biblical. Being captured for doing so is persecution. The death penalty thereby becomes martyrdom." She was about to say more when her phone chimed a text. "Sorry, I have to…"

"That's all right." Morgan said. He turned to the others. "What do we know about martyrs?" He asked.

"Well…" Spencer began

"Son of a bitch!" Dr. Cain yelled out. She got up and started practically running for the elevators, leaving her briefcase and her sweater behind, dialing as she went.

"I got it." Morgan said as he went after her.

"Where are you?" She asked whoever was on the line as she ran in to the elevator lobby. "I'm on my way down." She hung up just as she got into an elevator.

"Hold the door!" Morgan called out. "Hold the…" Too late. It closed, but another was coming open.

He reached the top of the plaza embankment just as she was reaching the street. As he watched a pickup truck threaded its way through traffic and pulled up to the curb. The driver leaned over and popped the door for her just as it came to a stop. Even at a distance Morgan could recognize Colonel Cain.

He also recognized the AR-15 rifle on the rack in the back window.

Morgan turned and headed back up to the office. "Baby girl." He said to Garcia. "I need the last text Dr. Cain got on her phone."

"What's going on?" Will asked.

"Her husband met her at the curb. They took off like a bat out of hell. And he had a rifle hanging in the back, military style." Morgan shook his head. "Something's going down."

"The text was from a Nancy Brinker, she's a social worker…"

"…specializing in older child adoption?" Spencer asked.

"Okay, you're being creepy again." Garcia said. "It says, quote, on their way, will be in Medford in aprox six hours, unquote. It looks like the nearest Medford is in Oregon. And it didn't just go to her; it went out to a whole list of people, including her husband."

"Medford, Oregon?" Will asked. "Who's going there?"

Spencer pulled up a map of the US and considered it a moment as the facts sifted through his brain. "The twenty-two foster kids." He said. "The Brethren aren't letting any flights in or out, and they have checkpoints on all the major highways and rail lines heading across the border, but it looks like there is a back road pass just north of there where they could take a convoy through fairly quickly."

"Yeah, but why tell them?" Morgan asked.

"Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia." Spencer said.

"English, Reid." Garcia said.

"Congenital adrenal hyperplasia refers to any of several autosomal recessive diseases resulting from mutations of genes for enzymes mediating the biochemical steps of production of cortisol from cholesterol by the adrenal glands. Most of these conditions involve excessive or deficient production of sex steroids and can alter development of primary or secondary sex characteristics in some affected infants, children, or adults."

"English, Reid." Morgan said.

Spencer sighed. "It's a genetic condition. In women it causes virilzation, the development of secondary sex characteristics at puberty. Both Nock sisters have very masculine builds and have personality characteristics that lean more towards male than female, both signs of excessive androgens in their systems. Now I suspect that Col. Nock has the more mild simple virilizing form which would not preclude her military career, but Dr. Cain probably has the more severe salt-wasting form which causes her body to react poorly to severe stress, leading to salt cravings to restore her electrolyte balance."

"That's why she was downing potato chips on the day we met her." Morgan nodded. "But what does that have to do with this?"

"Congenital adrenal hyperplasia causes infertility." Spencer said.

"But her sister has kids, I thought." Will said.

"They're actually her wife's biological children. But for Dr. and Col. Cain there's only one way they can build a family." Spencer said. He peeked over, reached into Dr. Cain's bag and gingerly pulled out a magazine without touching anything else. He held it up so they could see the title. _Adoptive Families_. "Their son is part of that convoy."

"Damn." Will said. "But why did they rip out of here?"

"Col. Cain spent fifteen years with Special Forces." Spencer said. "He would know that if they were broadcasting their arrival time to that many people then operation security had been compromised."

Morgan was taking his turn at the map. "That is not going to be a good day on that mountain."

* * *

Nine hours later a meeting was held in a waiting room in a hospital far from San Francisco. "You do know," Matthias Cain said. "That this is the worst timing possible."

"I'm sorry." The President said. "But today's events only prove our point. We need your help. We never realized…"

"…that the UN had its own agenda here? That's usually a given, you know."

The President sighed and paced around the small consulting room. "We're used to state politics, not international. Look, the number of bodies piling up in the mountains is starting to go up into the thousands. And that's not counting the ones the Brethren and the UN have caught and thrown back. Those are our people, on top of needing to keep our borders secure we need to help them."

"Why me?"

"All of our other military leaders at your rank or higher either turned traitor or joined with the UN troops. We need this to happen but we need it to happen quietly. We already signed the cease fire that said that we wouldn't raise our own army, so we need plausible deniability here as well. You're the only man left with the experience to do the job."

Just then a tow-headed boy of about twelve stuck his head in the door. "Um, the…"

"This meeting is private!" The President snapped.

"It's all right." Matt said. "This is my son, Toby." He turned to the boy. "What is it?"

Toby looked up at his father with a look of pride and gratitude that was very near worship. "The nurse is looking for you. Mom's waking up."

"All right, stay here." Matt turned to the President. "Excuse me."

The President, the former governor of the largest state in Pacifica, perhaps the most important man in the country, cooled his heels a bit as he waited. He watched the boy go and sit on the small couch and stare at the book in his lap without really seeing it. "Your mom's going to be just fine son." He said. "Getting out of surgery is always the important part."

"I hope so sir." Toby said.

"What happened up there?"

Toby looked down at his knees and shrugged and didn't answer.

After a few moments Matt came back. "Toby. Come on." He said, and took the boy off, leaving the President to wait some more.

Finally they came back. Matt looked the President over thoughtfully. "I get a free hand in this." He said. "I won't be micromanaged."

"Not at all." The President said.

"Whatever resources I require?"

"Ask and you get it."

"Eminent Domain?"

"Anywhere."

"The people I need?"

"Anyone."

"Conscription if it's wanted?"

"We'll back you all the way."

Matt considered a little more, and then nodded. "All right, you have a deal."

The President sighed in relief. "Thank you. Thank you so…"

"Matt?" Rian Knock asked as she opened the door to the surgery consult room. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's all right Mr. President." Matt said. "Col. Rian Nock, my Chief of Staff."

Rian looked at him, her brain skipping a beat. "What?"

"We're back in the service." Matt said. "And I'm being promoted."

"As of when?"

"Thirty seconds ago. I'll explain in a bit, go see your sister, she's awake."

"Right." Rian headed out to the recovery room.

The President turned and offered his hand. "Thank you…General Cain."

Matthias Cain smiled and accepted the offer. "Thank you Mr. President."

* * *

.

* * *

I completely forgot to add the new map to chapter 24. Well it will go here just as well. The link is on this chapter on my AO3 account.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**Thursday, April 05, 2018**

The next morning the team came in to work as usual. Garcia refilled her coffee and checked the mail. "What is this?" She said, looking at a post-it note that had been on top.

"What is it?" Morgan asked.

"Please report to the 14th floor SCIFF upon arrival." Garcia read. "What's going on?"

"I dunno. But when you find out let me know."

"Okay." Garcia dropped her things, left her electronics behind and headed up a floor. After looking over her ID the guard at the door let her in and secured it behind her. "Um, hi," she said to the person sitting at the table.

"Hi." Colonel Nock said. She was looking at an old-fashioned paper file. "Come on over."

"Is that…what is that?" Garcia asked. "That's…is that my personnel file?"

"Uh-huh. According to this you were quite the hacker before you joined the FBI. You've kept it up too."

"Yeah., kinda. Why?"

"Think you could hack the Brethren network?"

"If there was a line in of some kind."

"And if the UN had re-established those lines?"

"Sure."

"Without the UN knowing about it?"

"Yeah. Um why are we here talking about this?"

"Sign this first." The Colonel pushed a sheet of paper across the table to her and went to the door.

Garcia looked it over. It was a Classified Information Non-disclosure act, form 312, something she had signed for work about a dozen times before. Someone had taken out the words "Unites States" and replaced them with "Pacific States", but otherwise it was exactly the same. "Okay, why?"

"Sign first, then we can talk."

Garcia signed, the guard witnessed, and then Colonel Nock carefully tucked it into a file. "Thank you." She said to the guard. "Secure the room." Once it was locked down she sat and brought out another pile of paperwork. "Welcome to the Pacifica military Sergeant."

Garcia felt her brain skip a beat. "Wait, military? Sergeant? What?"

"You've just been conscripted." Colonel Nock handed her a packet of paper. "Unfortunately those can't leave this room but have a look."

"No, wait, I am not…." Garcia started looking through the papers. Lo and behold they were saying exactly what the Colonel was saying. "Pacifica doesn't have a military."

"They do now. Granted you're the third person in the unit, but give it time."

"I am not military material!"

"I think you'll do fine." Colonel Nock said

"No, I don't run, I don't work out, I don't even like to handle guns!"

"Exactly three people get passes from carrying weapons in this unit. You get one of them."

"But…wait, what am I supposed to do here?"

"You're going to be our official unit tech. I've put in the paperwork; your transfer is effective immediately although you'll remain in your current office for now."

"Why me?" Garcia asked.

"You're the best we've got." Colonel Nock said.

This was crazy. This was absolutely crazy. But staying in the office and doing the tech thing was what she did, so it wasn't like they were asking a lot. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to help me create a legend."

* * *

**Thursday, April 19, 2018**

After an unusually late winter April was about when Louisiana started planting in earnest. Even though Windy Hills plantation wasn't set up for commercial agriculture, it still needed to support a large clan, The winter shortages had shown that they couldn't rely on the markets to feed themselves. But many of the family were not doing well enough to handle the work of the farm. It seemed like every one in the family had been nearly continuously sick all winter, colds and coughs and ear infections kept going from person to person, round and round in a giant circle. On more than one occasion it had been JJ, Doris and Henry seemingly keeping the family in hot food and clean laundry. Now everyone was simply too worn to get the planting done.

But the planting needed to be done, the animals needed tending and the barn and the house needed work. And inside the floors needed scrubbing and the storerooms needed to be re-organized and the walk-in fridge and freezer needed cleaning out and about a billion other things wanted doing. But nearly everyone was still run down and among the wives there were now three pregnancies on and with over 30 children running around wanting tending no one had the energy to spare.

Leave it to Steve to find a solution.

JJ was sitting with the other wives on the back porch that fine spring afternoon. Her cooking skills had improved to the point where she didn't have to bake every day, and when she did she could riff a bit on the ingredients. Today she'd made lemon-ginger scones for afternoon tea, which was still a thing even after the long, difficult winter. As she settled she was looking through her project basket, she could not decide if she wanted to work on the quilt she was making for Henry's bed first or the lace shawl she was knitting. When the hell did I become so domestic, she wondered. I just wish I could relax and enjoy this. I wish I felt truly safe. I wish the conversation wasn't quite so dammed dull.

One of the boys came up to the porch railing. "Hey Miss Jenny," he said. "Can Henry come play?"

Quilt first JJ thought. "What are you doing and where are you doing it?" She asked

"We're gonna go out behind the barn and play the Butcher and the Soldiers." He said.

"The Butcher and the soldiers?"

"Haven't you heard?" One of the wives said. "Everyone was talking about it Courthouse Square."

An event JJ had yet to attend. "I was with Aunt Doris." She said.

"That's right, you were. Well, what they said was that some of those socialist monsters from the UN kidnapped a bunch of children and were taking them over the border to give them to the pedophile perverts out in California. Trying to make a little extra cash on the side, you know. Some of churches along the border got wind of it and their men went to stop the bus that was taking them out. Well they got into a fight with the UN men and then all of a sudden this soldier from the Pacific States comes out of nowhere and starts shooting people. He killed thirty of our unarmed men in minutes, just mowed them right down like he didn't even care. And then he took the children."

Okay, there was no way they were hearing the entire story here. This sounded more like an internet rumor than anything. But then a big part of what caused the schism in the first place was internet rumors. "What did the UN and the Pacifica Government have to say about it?"

"They said that they were taking children out for medical care and that they didn't know who the soldier was. Liars, of course. The Brethren Counsel is claiming that a massacre like that is a war crime and they have to turn him over for prosecution. They're calling him the Butcher of the Cascades." She shuddered delicately as her eyes reflected the horror and sorrow of the event. "It's the biggest loss we've had in the war."

"Awful." JJ said with mock sympathy.

"Can Henry come play?" The boy asked again.

So he can play the Butcher and you all can take him down? JJ looked over at her son who was sitting between two planters with his books beside him. He met her eye and gave the tiniest shake of his head. He knows the score and doesn't want to be bullied, she thought. "No. He hasn't finished his school work yet. He probably won't be free before supper." After supper it was board games at the workroom table, a much safer time and place to play.

One small plus about this system, the kids didn't whine. "Yes, Ma'am," the boy said before he ran off.

Just then they heard the sound of a large vehicle coming into the yard. JJ looked up as a military truck with people sitting in the back drove past the house and past the barn. Out past all the out buildings they had recently brought in a number of shipping containers, and workmen had been buzzing around them for a few days. No one had said what that was about, and Doris had implied that it would be a bad idea to ask.

The wives, however, were all smiles. "Finally!" One said.

"What is it?" JJ asked.

"Uncle Steve bought us a bunch of slave contracts." The wife said. "We're finally getting some help around here."

"Here's to hoping we get some house slaves." Another wife said. "I've got enough trouble looking after all these kids. I wouldn't mind getting some help around the place."

"Amen!" The first wife said.

JJ felt sick.

"What's going on?" Asked a familiar voice behind them.

JJ looked up and met Michael's eyes. For the past few months it seemed like every time she turned around he was looking at her. Studying her. Not threatening, like…but that was impossible. He was married, with three kids and another one on the way. No, she thought as she carefully looked back down at her work. Nothing is impossible here.

"The first group of slaves is here." Michael's wife Shelly said.

"Oh good." Michael said. He reached for his wife by JJ could feel his eyes on her. "You ladies all work too hard."

She would have come up with an excuse but just then one of the sister-mothers came running in from one of the cabins. "Aunt Doris, come quick!" She said. "Bessie's sick, she can't breathe!"

Doris set aside her sewing. "Oh dear."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

**Thursday, June 14, 2018**

"Anyone seen our goddess this morning?" Morgan asked when he came into the kitchen.

"The note on the board said she was going in to work early." Spencer said.

"She has been working crazy hours." Will said as he poured himself some coffee. "Wonder what's going on?"

Morgan was about to answer when his phone chirped an incoming text. "Maybe we're gonna find out. This is from her, _Ft. Mason Event Center, Fleet Room, 7pm. All of you_."

"What is it?" Spencer asked

Morgan typed in the return text and waited for the answer.

_Plan B._

* * *

Later that night the trio made their way to the event center and found the room set aside for the meeting. The room should have had a view of the bay but the windows were covered. Garcia was at the door, letting people in, but only after they gave up all their technology. "Sorry." She said. "Sorry, sorry. You can't go in if you don't."

"Baby girl, what's going on?" Morgan asked.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk about it." Garcia whined. "Not yet. Just leave your tech and go in and trust me."

They did, of course. "Why do we have to leave our stuff?" Will asked.

"Because we turned the room into a giant SCIF. Nothing goes in or out." Garcia said.

Spencer had wandered over to a large laundry basket full of clipboard. On each one was a copy of form 312, Confidential Information Non-disclosure Agreement. He held one up. "Is this why?" He asked.

She reached over and took it from him. "I. Can't. Talk. About it. Now shoo. Go inside. Sit down and listen."

They went inside, found seats about three-quarters back and started people watching. Patterns quickly started sorting out, a lot of young people with the look of college students in couples and twos and threes. A spattering of older veterans with their wives. A number of what looked like rough, rural country folk used to woods and farms. "I don't think all of these people are from San Francisco." Spencer said.

"We're not." An older man answered as he and his wife sat down in the row in front of them. "Earl Hallingford. This is my wife Myrna. We're from Merlin, Oregon. Where you folks from?"

Morgan made the introductions. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Only thing we know is that they came up with a way of sticking it to the bastards and they needed someone like me to help."

"Like you?" Spencer asked.

"Logger." Earl said. "Worked the mountains all my life, until I retired five years ago."

"Why do you want to stick it to them?" Will asked.

Earl reached over and took his wife's hand as sadness veiled both their faces. "We got our reasons." He said.

Spencer was about to ask something else when he was distracted by a small flock of young women coming in. They were chattering lightly as they sat, smoothing the skirts of the long dressed they wore. One of them had a sweet, winsome face and bright copper curls that tumbled down her back. For a moment she met his eyes and he felt like the world was dropping out from under him. From the way she stared she might have felt the same but her friends were tugging her down into a seat with them. When she turned and sat he saw that she had tied her curls back with a crisp steel blue ribbon.

Morgan elbowed him gently. "Too many girlfriends, not enough game." He said

"Shut up."

The theater was nearly full as people settled in. To Spencer surprise one of the last people to come in was Dr. Cain. She was walking slowly, leaning heavily on a forearm crutch, and when she finally sat in the front row it was with obvious relief. Morgan noticed her as well. "Maybe this is a plan B." He said. "Where do you think she's been?"

They hadn't seen her since the day she'd run out of the office, nearly two months before. "I don't know." Spencer said. He watched as her family gathered around and they talked for a bit, welcoming people, talking with Garcia. "I wonder why Garcia didn't say."

"That is a very good question."

A few moments later, when everyone was seated her husband, Colonel Cain stepped up on the stage and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "All right people. Welcome and thank you for coming." As he started talking Dr. Cruz and Garcia started passing out the clipboards. "My name is…well, not important just yet. I am here tonight representing the government of Pacifica. We are passing around Form 312, a Confidential Information Non-disclosure agreement. You all need to sign it before we can lock the doors and get started. By signing it you agree to not discuss what we go over in this meeting with anyone outside of this meeting. If you do you will be considered a traitor and you will be shot."

Many of the people in the audience looked up, alarmed. "Shot?" One of the college kids said.

"Yes, shot." Colonel Cain said matter-of-factly. "Traitors are shot. I'll probably do it myself."

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" College kid said.

Colonel Cain studied him a long moment and then gestured to the door. "Thank you for coming." He said.

"But…"

"Go. Go….Go." He waited as the college kid and the girl with him got up and left, squirming under everyone gaze. Colonel Cain turned back to the audience. "If anyone else here thinks it's wrong to shoot a traitor, go." People started shuffling. "If anyone else here thinks that traitors should be negotiated with or compromised with or better understood…go. If you think violence never solves a problem…go. If you think no one should ever have to die in war…go. If you think you could never harm another person for any reason…go." People started getting up and leaving. His voice was growing louder, his rhetoric escalating. "If you think guns are never the answer and all weapons should be outlawed, go! If you think you could never throw a punch, go! If you think you could never shoot someone to deliberately kill them, go! Not a warning shot, not to wound to kill! To take their life! Go! If this…" He reached to the table behind him and picked up an assault rifle and shook it in the air. "…frightens you, go! If you think you could never point it at another and pull the trigger then go! Do not think, do not waffle, go! Go right now! Go! Go! GO!"

By now people were pouring out into the hall, running to get away from the madman waving the gun around the stage. Along with Will and Morgan Spencer stayed in his seat. He could tell a performance when he saw it. Besides, he'd killed in the line of duty before. He didn't like it, but he had done it and would again if the need was there. Most of the room didn't feel the same. They were up and they were leaving, quick as they could. But not all of them. Spencer watched as patterns arose. Older couples either left together or stayed together. But in most cases the groups of college kids left, leaving one behind. They pleaded with that one for a moment but the one left shook their head and stayed in their seat. All around them Spencer could see friendships and romances crumbling as hold-outs put whatever had drawn them here first. And it hurt to see.

He and Will and Morgan stayed. Earl and Myrna Hallingford stayed. And as he watched, even though her friends pleaded with her, red curls remained firm, and stayed. But out of the five hundred or so who started out there, less than a hundred remained.

Colonel Cain waited for the stampede to end. When it did Colonel Nock went back to handing out clipboards. "This does not commit anyone to anything." She said to the remainder. "It's only an agreement not to discuss it outside of this room." Spencer signed his automatically.

When they were all sighed she collected them and checked them and then nodded to her companion on stage. "All right." He said. "Lock the doors. Let's get started."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

**Thursday, June 14, 2018**

Once the SCIF was sealed up Colonel Cain removed the overlarge flannel shirt he'd been wearing to reveal the uniform underneath as the screen behind him lit up. "My name is General Matthias Cain. Two months ago I was put in charge of the Pacifica armed forces. There's paperwork up here if any of you want to take a look at it."

"I thought Pacifica didn't have a military." One of the older men wearing a veteran's cap said. "They wimped out and turned it all over to the UN."

"Two months ago they changed their minds." General Cain said. They realized that the UN is trying to protect the rest of the planet, not our people."

"I thought we were safe here." A woman said.

"Oh, _we_ are. But _we_ are not all of _us_. Remember, this was a conflict based on ideology, not geography. Before the war there was some distribution, more of us on the coasts, more of them in the inner areas, but each side had people living everywhere, side by side in most cases. Since the partitioning of the continent we have let the people who feel the way they do out, but they have not done the same. And they do not intend to do the same." General Cain clicked the remote in his hand and the slide behind him changed. "These are intelligence photographs. Pursuant to their interpretation of the bible they are enslaving and killing people. Our people. And they are not willing to just let them leave, they believe that God wants them enslaved or dead and that is the way it's going to be."

"And people are just taking that?" The veteran asked.

"People don't have a lot of options." The General changed the slides to show desolated, literally bombed urban areas. "In the major cities they've been trying to fight back. But according to reports the Brethren spent a lot of time over the winter fighting their way through what major urban areas they could and keeping the rest under siege." Spencer herd Morgan grunt at one slide and realized that the neighborhood where he grew up was now burned out rubble. "No power, no water and no food has gone a long way towards getting people to agree. But not everyone. Some have been trying to get out all this time."

"What happened to them?" The veteran asked.

The General changed the slides. These showed bodies lying among patches of snow in piney woods. "They tried to walk out. Over the mountains. Now that the snow is melting up there they've found over two thousand bodies, which does not count the ones eaten by animals or that the UN found and sent back to be imprisoned or worse. These are our tasks. Number one to keep our border secure which the UN is doing an adequate job of for now. Number two is to help our people get home."

"How do we do that?" A younger man asked.

In reply the General changed slides to a picture of an older black woman wearing a dress from a hundred years ago. "Anyone know who this is?"

Morgan raised his hands right off. "Harriet Tubman." He said.

General Cain nodded to him. "Gold star in history. Harriet Tubman. They called her "Moses". She was a conductor on the Underground Railroad back before our first Civil War. By twos and threes she hiked over three hundred slaves approximately five hundred miles from Maryland to freedom in Canada. It was impossible but she did it. And if she did it so can we."

"All right." Will murmured.

"Thankfully we have cars these days; we won't have to walk so far. Our company is broken into two units. Unit one is charged with outfoxing the Brethren Council and their local authorities. They're all ready in place; they went out with the last wave of immigrants over the past month. What we're here to form tonight is Unit two. Our job is outfoxing the Brethren border patrols and the UN."

"How are we going to do that?" The younger man asked.

"Quirk of geography." The General put a map up on the screen. "You're looking at High Lakes Pass in southern Oregon. It runs through the Cascades, east to west. From here, at McClatchy Bridge over Butte Creek to here, the tip of Pelican Bay on Klamath Lake over the northern shoulder of Mt. McLaughlin and south of Fourmile Lake, It's twenty-five miles, the narrowest part of the DMZ. Heading west from the lake you gain roughly a thousand feet of elevation until you're approximately a mile above sea level. This route is going to be our highway."

Earl Hallingford had been studying the map as the General talked. "That just might work." He said. "Not a lot of logging trails back in there. And a lot of tree cover to boot."

The General smiled. "Exactly. Those two facts combined means not a lot of UN patrols either." He pointed to the map again. "Right now one group of Unit One is buying land around Klamath Lake. There's a lot of farmland around there, a lot of vacation cabins, all with docks. That is going to be our transfer point. The second group of Unit One is on the road, finding the high value targets we need returned and finding those at risk who need out. They will work together to move people to the transfer point. Our job is going to be to hike over, meet the people trying to get to freedom and hike them back as safely as we can." That set up a small murmur in the group. "We hiked it last week, crossed paths with two UN patrols and a group of slave catchers just before the Brethren border, that's all. It can be done."

"Whatever it takes." Will muttered

"But we cannot let anyone know we're doing it." General Cain went on. "The moment the Brethren find out that Pacifica is raising an army we invalidate the treaty that's allowing the UN to clean out their weapons of mass destruction. And that could make for a very bad day. So we're going to have to hide in plain sight."

"How do we do that?" A woman asked.

General Cain pointed to the map again. "Butte Falls, Oregon. It is small, it is isolated, it has the distinction of being the only town in the former United States that is completely fenced in and it is less than three miles from the border. It will be our home base but it must look like a small mountain town and we must all pass for small town locals who just happen to live so close to the edge."

The woman settled back and looked again. "Might work." She said.

"Now while we might pass for small town residents we will not be just people in a small town. From the moment we collect our charges at the lake until the moment we send them down the mountain to safe houses in the valley they are our responsibility. It will be our job to protect them from Brethren retribution, and there may well be some at some time. And bear in mind that we are very close to the border for a base like this. Should the worst happen we may have to fight to defend our home and our fellow citizens. Which is why everyone, support staff included, will be expect to qualify with a firearm and to be armed at all times." That set up a chuckle around the room which left the General smiling. "Yes, that's another reason for keeping this quiet. I do not think most citizens of Pacifica would look upon us kindly for embracing guns or violence as the Brethren do. But bear in mind, the Brethren are bullies and the only way to stop a bully is to make him more afraid of you."

He snapped off the projector. "So this is what I am asking. I am asking for volunteers to leave their homes and their current jobs, to move to an isolated town in the middle of nowhere, to be willing to hike through mountain wilderness and to face wolves, bears, mountain lions, Brethren soldiers who will shoot on sight and UN patrols who will hold you still so they can, and to be willing to shoot to kill in order to protect your fellow citizens. And I am asking you to do this without any recognition, without any heroics, with no great reward, with only the hope that someday we might go down in history like Moses herself. Now, are any of you with me?"

There was quiet in the hall for a long moment. And then, slowly, but without hesitation, every person there stood.

General Cain smiled at them, his eyes full of pride. "Thank you all. Welcome to the Pacifica Scouts."

* * *

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_End of Part 2_


	30. Chapter 30

**_Part 3 – Transformation_**

_In life you need either inspiration or desperation.  
- Tony Robbins_

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**Chapter 30**

**Thursday, June 14, 2018**

"So, I am so sorry I have not been able to tell you guys sooner." Garcia said as the meeting broke up. "I hate lying!"

"That's all right." Morgan said. "Sometimes you have to keep it quiet."

"You all forgive me then?" Garcia asked them. But she was looking right at Spencer.

"Of course," he said, getting a hug in as the others agreed and hugged in return. Yeah, so there was some sense of what happened after Emily's 'death', but he knew a sincere apology when he heard one.

"How come you didn't sign us up for Unit one though?' Will asked.

"Because you never would have made it," Garcia said. "They're all walkaways."

"Walkaways?"

"Former Brethren who left the church before the break-up. Apparently you really have to have a really good grounding in their theology to pass. But they're all trustworthy, they pretty much all lost someone, lovers or wives or children because of what the Brethren believe so they all really want this. Pretty much everyone here does too, but they were always on the outside like us so they can't pass."

"Anything else everyone here has in common?' Morgan asked.

"Weapons licenses," Garcia said, "Or former military or law enforcement. Or something. We have lists. It's entirely amazing. So are you guys really going to do this? Because I am going to be moving up there and I don't want to leave you guys." She looked at them all hopefully.

Morgan smiled and nodded, "Walking in the footsteps of Grandma Moses. No way I'm turning it down."

"Actually Grandma Moses was a folk-art painter." Spencer said.

"It's been a hundred and twenty years. She's our Grandma." Morgan said.

"What about you?" Garcia asked. "You will totally be able to come back and visit your Mom, I already asked about that."

Spencer considered. On the one hand he wanted to be there for JJ and Henry. On the other, "I don't know if I can."

"Even if you can't make a Scout we still need you." Garcia insisted. "We're going to be moving everything up there, research, response planning, there's going to be a clinic for the survivors, I'm sure we're going to need your brains."

Oh. Spencer smiled then. "In that case I'm in, either way."

Garcia bounced up and down with joy. She looked over at Will expectantly. "I'm in." He said. "Maybe I wouldn't be any good at going to get them but at least I'll be sitting at the front door ready to let them in."

They pulled him into a hug then. Looked like they were on.

* * *

While they took turns filling out the paperwork at the table in the front Spencer pulled Garcia aside. "Do you know who that is?" He asked her quietly, nodding at red curls.

"No." Garcia said. "But Delia said she was hoping to get some of the younger walkaways to come up with us to help in the recovery center. Given the dress she's wearing I'd say she's one of them. Why?"

"Just wondering," Spencer said. "What happened to Dr. Cain, do you know?"

"Broke her back, like really low down, and also cracked her pelvis."

Spencer winced. "Ouch. How did she manage that?"

"I don't know. I don't have enough clearance for the details. All I know is that they're calling it the Battle of Lake of the Woods and a lot of Brethren troops died and she got a Purple Heart out of it, but she can't wear it. Her husband bought her an amethyst brooch to wear instead. Also an aquamarine one for the battle because they did medals. Rian said that was a little weird but Caran said it mattered to him so she was wearing them."

"First names?"

"We're all knitters." Garcia said. "It's mystical."

"Right," Spencer looked around again. Red curls was over at the table where he had been a moment ago, filling out her own form. A walkaway, he wondered what that meant. "So what happens now?"

"You guys get physicals this week, and I work it around Moss to get you all transferred. Then whoever clears the physical goes off to train while those who don't get to start packing up to move up the mountain. I haven't been there yet but I've seen some of the drawings, it's going to be gorgeous."

"Going to be?"

"Apparently a lot of the people there were Brethren, and they decided to burn their houses down when they left because they didn't want anyone else in the town. Which wasn't a huge loss since it was pretty much all trailers anyway. The General insisted that they build proper houses in there instead; it's going to be really cozy. Hey, what's your favorite hobby? Do you have any I don't know about?"

"Um, reading. Math. Chess. Go. Cards. Crossword puzzles. Magic." He thought about it for a moment and then decided to admit it. "Playing piano."

"Anything outdoorsy?"

"Astronomy. I took my bicycle out sometimes. Why?"

"Well this place is an hour from the nearest train depot and even though that train depot is in this great little college town and there's going to be a motor pool they keep saying that fuel rationing might be an issue and the General wants people to be happy up there so he's making sure people have access to the things they might want just because." Garcia smiled. "I think it's his way of trying to be nice to people. He seems like he's a good guy but he doesn't really communicate well."

"It also helps stave off isolation psychosis." Spencer said. "He set everyone's instincts off when we first met him."

"Yeah, he's a little creepy. But I don't have details." Garcia said. "I do know that he has a reputation for taking real good care of the men under him though." Just then Morgan and Will joined them. "Hey, what do you like to do in your spare time?" She asked them.

"Working out." Morgan said. "Fixing up houses. Making furniture. Sports. Why?"

"Wait one." Garcia said. "What about you Will?"

"I second him on the sports. Playing drums, shooting pool, building stuff with Henry. We had that train set going in the basement."

Just then General Cain walked over. He'd changed out of his uniform and had a mug of something that smelled spicy and sweet in his hand. No one looking at him would ever guess who and what he was. But that didn't stop his mind at all. "FBI," he said, looking at Will. "Your wife and son are stuck over there. Outside New Orleans. Stuck in the heart of Dixie." He said it like he was fishing it out of his memory.

"Yeah, that's right."

"You signed up?"

"Yeah, we all did." Will said. "Why?"

"Are they on the retrieval list? Do you know?"

"Yeah, they are. Numbers 544 and 45." It was a bitter number now.

The General held up a finger to get them to hold on. "Ree?" He called out. "Ree?"

Colonel Nock came over, her eyes focused on her tablet. "What?"

"Move…um….um…" Clearly he'd remembered the details but not the names. "Dixie…Dix's wife and son higher up the retrieval list. Get them in the top hundred, top fifty if you can."

Spencer felt the world swirling around him. He looked at the faces of his friends and saw the same guarded elation on their faces. For the first time since this whole nightmare began someone was finally doing something to help them. In that instant Spencer knew that he could trust this man like he could Hotch, and he knew that the others felt the same.

"Matt." Colonel Nock said, more than a little exasperation in her voice. "The list was set by the committee. It…" She trailed off as he just looked at her. "You don't care do you?" He took a swig from whatever was in his mug. "Fine! Fine! I'll see what I can do. And while I'm at it I'll pull a rabbit out of my ass."

"Good. Make it an angora; your sister has wanted one." He turned and swatted Will on the arm. "See you on the train."

Will watched him walk off. When he turned back to the others it was hard to tell if he was laughing or crying. "This might just work." He said, "Hot damn."


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

**Thursday, June 14, 2018**

JJ sighed as the last shovelful of dirt landed over the small grave. "What are you thinking?" Doris asked her.

"For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the battle was lost. For the failure of battle the kingdom was lost. All for the want of a horse-shoe nail," JJ said.

"Very true," Doris said with her own sigh.

JJ looked over the graveyard as they turned to leave. When they arrived here last fall there had been a handful of graves here, Will's great-grandparents, and their parents, and so on back to the founding of the plantation in the 1840's. Mostly those who died of old age, with a handful of children who died of disease and three notable soldiers.

Now there were thirty-eight more.

All for the want of a horse-shoe nail.

Or in this case, for want of the Diphtheria vaccine.

JJ felt entirely disconnected as they slowly walked back to the main house, like she was floating along a few feet above her body, dragging it along like a sack of potatoes. Over the past two months the disease had run through the family and the greater community like water. Not a soul in the Brethren church under the age of thirty had ever been vaccinated, apparently if you vaccinated yourself or your children you were placing your faith in science and not God. And with very few exceptions no one over the age of 30 had received their booster shots; most adults simply hadn't known that one was needed. As a result the only people who managed to entirely avoid the sickness were the few slaves who previously worked in healthcare, herself, Henry, Steve and Doris. The ones in health care kept up their boosters, Henry was still covered from his school vaccines and JJ had been religious about keeping everyone's shots up ever since the Nichols case, she hounded Will and the team until they got them done. How Steve and Doris managed to avoid it was anyone's guess.

All JJ knew was that she was exhausted, tired right down to the bone. For the past two months she had done nothing but nurse sick people. She'd changed beds, helped children to the bathroom and the tub to try to bring down fevers, made vats of broth to try to get some kind of nutrition down sick, swollen throats, even pulled on gloves and peeled back the sticky grey membrane that covered the back of the throat to see if it would help them breathe. Doris had been working right alongside her, as had the two slaves who could be spared from helping the rest of their community. Steve had prayed fervently every day, and when that was clearly not working he had gone to every authority he knew to try to get antibiotics and antitoxin, but there was simply none to be had.

Left untreated Diphtheria has a fifty percent fatality rate, either from suffocation from the swollen glands and sticky membrane or from heart or nerve damage triggered by the toxin. And after a winter battling multiple colds and infections none of the children had any hope of battling it off. One by one the children started dying, gasping for breath as they lay beside their mothers and sister-mothers, who themselves were too weak to even cry. And then the sister-mothers started following them. Even now many of the women in the family were still in bed, grieving their lost children and hoping that their bodies would heal. But they had been weak from a life of no exercise and bad diets and for many back-to-back pregnancies and now their bodies would never truly recover. They were doomed to a life on that back porch, making what slaves they could get do the heavy lifting while the frail beauties of the Brethren nursed their weak heart muscles, watched their lives go by and mourned the families they once had.

All except for JJ. All those years of making sure Henry had his shots and drank his milk and ate his greens and went outside to play had paid off. He spent the spring growing like a weed, keeping up with his studies, helping with the vegetable patch and doing what he could to help her and to keep the house going. Now he was nearly up to her shoulder, hearty and brown, edging ever closer to the time when he'd shoot up and turn into the mirror image of his father, but ready to follow his beloved godfather straight into academia. He'd kept their cover all this time, playing along with the few cousins left, even as in his heart he remained loyal to their ideals, their people, and their country. Despite her own exhaustion and her own concern for how all these deaths were weighing on him she couldn't be more proud of her son.

When they got to the house JJ headed in to the kitchen to look over what was coming along for supper. A few of the other wives were able to get up and at least shuffle down to the kitchen, where they had been directing the slaves to turn what they had into tonight's round of soup. Another horse-shoe nail, with families either down sick or trying to sort out this miserable new system maintaining the supply chain had been nearly impossible. Until their own farm came ready for harvest Steve had signed them on for deliveries from the prison farm up the road. All she could do was smile at the irony of men Will had put in prison now feeding his son.

"Jenny." Steve called to her. "Come here a moment."

Now what? JJ obediently followed him in to his study and shut the door as bidden, "Yes, sir?"

He did not invite her to sit. "Jenny, some of the men have been complaining about your behavior over the past few months. They've said you've put yourself forward far too much, you've been overreaching your place, bossing them around, and they don't like it."

Huh? "I've just been trying to help." JJ said, her mind suddenly back in her skin as her heart started to pound. "With everyone so sick I've been…"

Steve held up a finger to stop her. "Don't talk back." He said. "It might have been acceptable to Will but not here. Since Will's not here to chastise you for this, his male relations will have to see it done, and to do so on a regular basis so that you don't forget or become fractious. Now let's not have a fuss over it, it sets a bad example for the children. Just head up to your room after supper tonight, Jamie will meet you there to take care of it. Darren will see to in on Sunday and then they'll take turns every Sunday thereafter so that the entire responsibility does not fall on one man."

JJ felt the floor dropping out from under her. He had to be kidding! "But…"

"That's all." Steve nodded to the door.

JJ was about to tell him exactly what he could do with his notion of chastisement but she felt someone pulling her back to the door. When she got out to the hall she turned and found herself nose to nose with Doris. "Not a word." The older woman hissed before turning and heading down to the storerooms. JJ followed, her head spinning. Once they were out of earshot of everyone Doris turned to her. "I swear Jenny, I had no idea. I would have warned you."

"He is not serious!"

"Oh indeed he is. And this is the better option so I suggest you take it."

"Better option!"

"First Timothy 5:14. _Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, and give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. _The family has been respecting Will's wishes to not have anyone but you looking after Henry, but if Steve sold you into marriage your new husband would have the right to do what he liked with the boy, including whipping him, sending him to the orphanage or selling him for a slave."

No! No, that could not happen! JJ felt her stomach flop over from fear. "No. Not Henry, no."

"Then I suggest you nut up and take it, honey." Doris said. "And who knows, some women enjoy it, maybe you'll luck out and be one of those."

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Footnotes in the usual place


	32. Chapter 32

_Note: Trigger warning for assault, abuse_

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**Chapter 32**

**Thursday, June 14, 2018**

The rest of the day passed with ever increasing dread. Finally dinner came, a dinner JJ could only pretend to eat. As they cleaned the table Deidra, Jamie's wife, took her elbow and spoke quietly. "It's easier if you just pop your undies off beforehand." She said. "And use the restroom so you don't make a mess."

JJ felt her cheeks flame, did everyone in the house know? But she murmured her thanks and once she had Henry settled with board games under Doris's watchful eye she headed up stairs. She dutifully used the rest room and while she was there tucked her phone under the sink. I have faced down killers, she thought, why am I so nervous? She left her shorts and underwear and stepped out just as Uncle Jamie was coming in.

Jamie was the eldest male in the family short Steve. One of Will's uncles he was not tall but solid, sturdy and thick in the torso, and he carried himself with a matter-of-fact air. "We've been thinking that Will never took you in hand, did he?' He asked mildly.

Taken in hand? Is that what this is called? "No, sir," she said quietly, her stomach trying to turn itself into knots.

Uncle Jamie nodded. "That explains it." He took of his belt, the zip of it through his belt loops making her cringe, and then sat on the edge of her bed. "On your knees. Let's go." She knelt and he took her hands and began to pray. "Heavenly Father, we give you thanks…

The prayer went on and on, leaving her ample time to become even more nervous. She began to see why Deidra warned her. Killers, she thought, why am I so nervous now? This probably won't even hurt that much. Finally the prayer ended. "Now what?" She asked.

He reached over and pulled out one of her pillows. "In case you feel the need to get loud." He said. "Don't want to be disturbing the children. Come on, up and over."

He took her shoulders and guided her over his left knee at an unexpected angle. She landed with her torso on the bed beside him, facing away, her left arm doubled under her, her right wrist caught and pulled behind her. Her hips rested over his leg and her legs hung off the bed. He easily caught her left calf under his far leg, pinning it down so she couldn't knee him in the crotch, and then he stuck his right knee between her thighs, forcing her to rest her pelvis on his thigh and stick her backside up in the air. When he leaned sideways and rested the weight of his torso on his left arm, which lay across her back, she was effectively pinned. I have no leverage, she thought, I'm stuck. A moment later she realized the true horror of this position. He lifted her skirts and bared her to the waist. With her legs splayed out for balance and her backside plumped she could feel the caress of the cool air and she knew that he could see a lot more than she wanted him to. It was more intimate than even Will had ever been with her. "Stop," she said as she instinctively started to struggle.

"Now Jenny, behave and we'll get this over with." Uncle Jamie said without heat. "You're supposed to do this until the woman cries, but I figure former FBI and all, I'd do you an injury before we got that far. So mind your tongue and we'll settle with twenty licks, all right." His free hand picked up his folded belt.

"No!" She struggled but it didn't help. The belt cracked across her backside, leaving a stinging burn in its wake. Over and over it came down, over her cheeks and the backs of her thighs. "Stop it!"

"You don't get to tell men what to do Jenny." He said. "Now I'm going to keep going until you learn that."

The lash kept falling and falling. It wasn't real pain, she'd felt worse from wresting around with Morgan, but she couldn't protect herself in anyway. With his knee between her legs she couldn't draw them together at all, and more than once the end of it caught her on a sensitive spot, a stinging thump that caused her to almost panic. "Don't!" She cried, jumping from the sharp sting when one blow hit there particularly hard.

"Uh huh," Jamie grunted. Apparently he liked that reaction because he began aiming for just the spots that made her jump.

JJ cried out as the blows burned like fire. "Stop!" It wasn't the pain. There was something else happening, something that was making her die inside. "Stop, please! Please!" She said with something that was almost a sob.

"There we go." He whipped her a few more times and then stopped, letting her go. She crawled up on the bed, pulling down her skirt and curling in on herself. "Now, stop ordering men around. Regardless of what you were back in the union here you are not a headship. It is not your place, understand?"

JJ's head was spinning. Right now she just wanted him to get out of there so she could think, "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now Darren will see to this on Sunday and then everyone else will take a turn on the Sundays following, so you know this is from all of us. Mind your ways and we won't have to cycle through again." He put his belt back on and went to the door. "No staying up here and pouting about it either, I expect you downstairs inside of five minutes or we'll do this again."

"Yes, sir," JJ said quietly. She waited for him to leave and ran to lock the door. The bathroom didn't have a lock but she shut it and leaned her weight against it before lifting her skirts to check on any damage. The fire on her backside and the backs of her thighs was already passing, thankfully. Her inner thighs were sore and tender, she'd be sore sitting tonight but she didn't think it would last until morning. Her delicate places were also sore and swollen, but not with damage as much as with arousal. Her body was awake in ways it hadn't been since she last saw Will, hot and tender and much more sensitive than she would like. And the rest of her was shaking with hormones and anger and fear.

And Uncle Jamie had seen all of it. Intimately.

I am not them, she thought. I am not them. I know what my body can do when it's loved. I know what real passion feels like. I know how to seduce my husband and accept his attention and enjoy it. I am not them! She found a cloth and started washing her face with the cool water, trying to make the flushing stop. For a moment she flashed back to hot nights in a crappy French Quarter apartment and the wave of want nearly drove her under. I am not turning into one of those women! I am not! It's just nerves, they are meant to react when stimulated and they do. It means nothing at all!

She did not want to do that again. That was an even stronger drive than not wanting to face him or anyone else downstairs. She washed up a bit and quickly re-dressed, grateful for the covering of her shorts and her voluminous skirts now. On the way out she found herself stopping to pull on the petticoat she never wore, even though it was warm and humid this time of year. Then she slowly went downstairs.

No one noticed. No one said anything. The men were in the study watching the news as usual, the children on the back porch and worktable playing games, and the women were bustling around them and around the kitchen. No one even looked at her as she came downstairs and looked for Henry. He was at the table with four of his cousins, playing Clue and having a grand time. He was just fine.

"All right Jenny?" Steve asked as he headed to the study with some soda.

I can't look at him, she thought. I can't. He'll know. They'll all know. She looked at the top button on his collar, not deliberately anymore. She couldn't meet his eyes. Every one of them, she thought, they'll all have a turn at me. Or else they'll send Henry away. "Yes, sir," she said meekly.

"Good." With a pleased smile he headed off to the study.

JJ went to her chair in the corner and picked up her knitting. But she couldn't stop her hands from shaking.

* * *

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Note: I toned this down a bit to try to keep it to an M rating. The original is on my AO3 account.

This chapter also comes with footnotes. I did _not_ make this concept up.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

**Saturday, June 23, 2018**

The firearms qualification somehow turned into a party.

They had chosen a state park some two hours north of San Francisco. It was centrally located, and people from up and down Pacifica had gathered there, everyone who had been selected and then volunteered to join this new group. Nearly all of them had come to camp one way or another and by the start time on Saturday their new community was forming up nicely.

Someone in Uncle Roger's church had lent the BAU team a small RV for the week-end. Spencer didn't know what Morgan had told them and he didn't want to know. He was sleeping on the couch, given that his knee would not do well sleeping on the ground. Garcia was taking the bedroom, or course. Will and Morgan had tents they planted right outside the door. Once everything was set up they wandered out to register and join the ongoing gathering.

Off to one side of the picnic area, which was the center of the gathering, there was a circle of small, vintage campers. From what Spencer could tell each one had been gutted and customized and decorated in ways he had only ever seen in Penelope Garcia's apartment. They were under enough trees to make the center a shady spot, where a ring of chairs had been planted. "Oh wow!" Garcia gushed as she entered the clearing. "They _are_ adorable! Oh my god, I want one! It's called glamping." She told Spencer. "Glamorous camping. Isn't it perfect?"

"I told you." Caran Cain said from the depths of one of the campers. She was preceded by a tow headed boy of about 12, one still stuck on this side of adolescence. He turned and helped her with her balance as she lumbered down the two steps to get to the ground. "Just because we're camping there's no reason not to be comfortable. Thank you Toby, you don't need to stay."

"You sure, Ma'am?" The boy asked with a decided southern drawl.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine. Go find your cousins and do…whatever you're going to do. Just stay away from the shooting range."

Toby beamed. "Yes, Ma'am. Thank you Ma'am." He said as he ran off.

Caran looked after her son with a fond smile and an exasperated sigh. "I am never going to get him to stop calling me Ma'am." She said.

Spencer was watching him run off as well. To his admittedly untrained eye the boy looked perfectly healthy. "How is he?" He asked.

"Quite well, now." Caran said. "He'd rather I not go into the details but we have him in a program at UCSF now and he's doing much better."

"Moving up to the mountains won't be a problem?"

"Not if we lay in a stock of his meds." She had a forearm crutch on one arm, and was trying to move things into the circle with the other. Spencer stepped up to help her. "Oh, thank you. He'll need more help when he gets a bit older, but for now it shouldn't be an issue."

"What about you?" Spencer nodded to the crutch.

She looked at it and gave a rueful laugh, "Gift of the Brethren, given when I got between them and their target." She nodded after her son, and then sat heavily into a rocking chair set on a flat bit of ground. "I am determined to put off the wheelchair they promised me for as long as possible. Thankfully the physical therapy seems to be helping. And when we get up there I'm getting my very own golf cart to get around town."

"Golf cart?" There were some stools and such set around, in addition to the claimed chairs. Spencer plopped on one for a moment. "Not a car?"

"Cars will be available and if people want to bring theirs they can, of course, but given that we have to truck fuel up the mountain, there's limited storage space for it, and the whole town is only a square mile and flat, we're hoping people will choose alternate forms of transportation. So everyone who wants one is getting a bicycle or golf cart-thing as they prefer."

A safe, quiet place to ride. Spencer felt his smile growing. "Bicycle. That would be fun."

"I already picked one out for you." Garcia said. She had settled into one of the other chairs and had pulled out her knitting. "It's fab. You'll love it."

"What's it like?"

Garcia grinned. "It's a surprise."

More women were showing up with handcrafts in various kinds of baskets and bags. Spencer suspected that this small corner of the gathering was probably going to trend to uncomfortable topics soon so he beat a retreat. He found Will and Morgan with another knot of men bemoaning the loss of most of the major sports franchises, although apparently hockey and soccer were still topics to discuss. He was at a loss over what to do with himself, but then he saw that one group had some chess boards out on one of the picnic tables. What better way to make new friends.

Just as he was handily winning his second game his number was called to come to the shooting range. It was a short walk to the tidy outdoor range where he met up with about a dozen other people, Will and Morgan included. As it turned out everyone at the gathering had brought at least one firearm, many had two or three. Now that those of Brethren leaning had left Pacifica seeing this many gun owners in one place was rather remarkable. After a quick review of the range rules Colonel Nock let them all step up to the line. "Now remember, you don't have to be a perfect shot. We can help you improve once we get there. All we want to know is that you're not afraid of throwing some lead down range." She waited until everyone had their safety gear on and was behind the appropriate line. "Just be patient, wait until I come around to check you."

When it was Spencer's turn he pulled out his revolver and emptied it, all five shots going down to the target and hitting within a zone that would have better than passed him at Quantico. By the time he reloaded a stiff breeze had started up, so his next set went a bit further afield, but not so much as to be an issue. I just have to practice shooting outdoors more, he thought.

"Not bad." Colonel Cain said from behind him, "Former FBI, right?"

Former? Was he former now? "Yes."

"Okay. What caliber is that, .38?"

".357. Why?"

"Everyone's getting two cases in the armory, just in case. Can you handle something like an AR-15?"

"I've never trained on one, no."

"All right then. I won't ask you to qualify. What you have there is more than enough." She smiled at him. "You passed. Thank you." She moved on to Morgan.

Morgan and Will both said they could handle the heavier rifle so she asked them to wait until everyone had their first pass. They stepped back and idly watched the other shooters as they waited. As Spencer watched Red Curls, with her skirt swinging about her ankles and the ribbon in her hair dancing in the breeze, lifted a hunting rifle to her shoulder and nailed the target center mass over and over again. There was something about her confidence there that just made her all the more lovely to see.

Then she nailed the last shot right between the legs. Morgan started chuckling. "Elle used to do that." He said. "You might want to be careful there, lover."

Spencer rolled his eyes. "I'm not…"

"Yeah, right."


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

**Tuesday, June 26**

"So what is my job going to be?" Spencer asked.

"Your open job or your closed job?" Garcia asked.

The new Unit had quietly taken over an unused corner of the old Federal building. From here they were patiently and quickly sorting out what needed to be done, conscious that every delay could cost lives. For now the team was still technically active, their office was on the floor down, but it was easy to wander up and check in from time to time. Now Spencer blinked at Garcia over her jar of lollipops. "What's the difference?"

"Your open job is the one you can tell people about. It's usually something that keeps this little town running like, you know, a little town. Your closed job is whatever furthers the mission. Granted some people will only have one, or more than two, or one will be a cover for another…."

Spencer pulled the lollipop from his cheeks. "Can this be simplified?"

"Um yeah," Garcia quickly looked it up. "Okay, you are going on the books as the head of the math and science department at the Senior High in town."

He groaned around the treat. "I don't do well with young people." He said.

"Which is okay, because there really isn't a Senior High in town. Since most of the active Scouts are college age and have, like, zero military training they're pretending to be high school kids and going to 'school' to train much of the day. You'll actually be working with them in the training center so they can finish their degrees at a distance."

Oh. That was all right. "College I can teach. What's my closed job?"

"That depends on your medical report, which should be back today. But part of it is going to be helping at the Ops center to work up profiles of all the major Brethren leaders, in case we decide to invade at some point. And part of it is going to be working at the clinic helping to work out a treatment plan for the victims."

"I can do all that too." Spencer settled in, somewhat less worried about his ability to at least help somehow. "What about Will and Morgan?"

"Will's paperwork is already back, he passed his physical so he's going to be a Scout. And I'm sure Morgan will be as well. Will is being listed as the Baseball coach and Morgan as the Football coach. They're actually going to be teaching hand-to-hand. I didn't know Will knew all that fighting stuff."

Spencer nodded. "He did some amateur fights back in New Orleans, before he became a detective. And Morgan taught at the academy. What about you?"

"I am the town tech goddess, and also the unit tech goddess. My job will be to keep the Brethren networks well and truly hacked."

"Sounds like a plan."

Just then Garcia's tablet bleeped a message. "Ah, it's the results of your physical, yours and Morgan's. Want to find out?"

Spencer felt a thrill of excitement. "Sure. Not sure I should know about Morgan's though."

"Well, we won't go in to details." She tapped. "He passed. Flying colors. And you…" She tapped again. "…did not. Awww."

Now Spencer really relaxed. The soldier life really wasn't for him. "It's okay. I still have good work to do. Will and Morgan should be the ones to bring JJ and Henry home anyway."

"And us Godparents will totally be there for Henry while JJ gets her life back." Garcia agreed.

"Why didn't I pass?" Spencer asked, "My knee?"

"No, your lungs. They said that they didn't think you could handle that much activity at that altitude, and that you should be monitored to make sure you didn't develop an asthma-like condition up there." She looked up at him. "I'll knit you a scarf for the winter, keep your nose warm. Since when do you have lung problems?"

Ah, that was an easy one. "Anthrax."

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry."

"I'm not." Spencer smiled around his lollipop.

Just then Delia came out of one of the offices, accompanied by Red Curls. Their eyes met and once again Spencer felt that flash of something. He rose politely, hoping for an introduction.

And one was forthcoming. "Oh good," Delia said as she stopped. "Ruth, this is Penelope Garcia, she's our head tech, and Dr. Spencer Reid, he's going to be on the clinical team with us. Penelope, Dr. Reid this is Ruth Winslow, she is also a member of the clinical team."

He watched her body language with interest. At first she seemed shy, nervous, almost meek. Her shoulders bowed in and her hands clasped in front of her, closing herself off as her eyes dropped to his Adam's apple. But then she quite deliberately put her shoulders back and relaxed, looking up and smiling. If he hadn't learned to watch for such things he might not have noticed. "Nice to meet you," he said. And then her grey eyes met his and all thoughts went right out of his head.

"Nice to meet you too," she said in a voice that was gentle and so soft it was almost hard to hear. "I'm looking forward to working with everyone."

Conversation. Conversation. He had to keep this going for at least another moment. "Know what your job is going to be?"

"I'm going to be running one of the hobby shops." She said, "Fabric, yarn, crafting supplies, that sort of thing."

"We're going to have one?" Garcia was beaming. "Oh, that is so great!"

Ruth looked away and the world felt a little dimmer. "Yeah. Email me; tell me what you think we should carry."

"Totally!"

The women moved off, leaving Spencer to wonder who once broke her and what made her now so strong.

* * *

After chatting with Garcia for a few moments, Ruth and Delia finally made it to the elevator lobby. "Are you all right?" Delia asked quietly.

"Yeah. I think…I just…" Ruth reached up and covered her cheeks. She swore they were on fire. "I don't know, I feel…strange. Kind of tingly. Maybe a fever or something."

Delia smiled. "Did it start when you were introduced to Dr. Reid?"

"Um…yes, actually. His eyes…"

"That's called attraction. It's normal. And just so you know he's a very nice man, nothing at all like Peter. When we get up the mountain you should try to get to know him a little better."

He had the fullest, most interesting eyes she'd ever seen. "Maybe I will."

"Good."


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

**Friday, June 29, 2018**

Morgan was just packing up his bag when there was a knock at the bedroom door. He looked up and saw Uncle Roger there. "Hey. Come on in."

"So you're leaving." Uncle Roger said, closing the door behind him.

"Yeah, there's some stuff we've got to do." Morgan said. "We are grateful though. I don't think we would have made it this well if you hadn't taken us in."

"You're family. Besides, you four are great tenants." Morgan chuckled at that. "So where are you folks going anyway?"

"I said. We've got to move for work."

"That's a why, not a where, and not a good why either."

Damn. Morgan slowed his packing. "I can't say."

"Can't huh?"

"Nope. I'm sorry about it, but I can't."

"Uh huh," Uncle Roger leaned against the dresser. "I don't know why but I've got a funny feeling that there might be a uniform involved."

Morgan slowed his packing once again. "Pacifica doesn't have a military. They gave it up to the UN."

"So they tell us, which tells me that if they changed their minds people involved couldn't say."

"That would follow."

"And if they did and someone I knew chose to get involved, had to go away to help deal with this mess, well that's quite a sacrifice." Uncle Roger said. "I'd have to say I was proud of him." Morgan stopped all together and looked at his uncle. "I'd think his father would be proud too."

Damn. "He'd be grateful to hear it. That would mean a lot to him."

Uncle Roger nodded. "And I'd say I'd keep his Momma from worrying. Tell him to keep in touch, come back to visit when he could, that kind of thing."

"And he would promise all of it."

"All right then. That being the case I'd tell this hypothetical man to finish his packing. Trains for this kind of thing usually leave early in the day."

"They do." Morgan broke off and went to give his Uncle a big hug. "Thank you."

"Thank you son. You take care. Make it right."

"I'll do what I can."

* * *

The next morning the team stood at the train station. One knot among many as the Scouts boarded the train to go off to training. "This is so weird." Penelope said. "This is the first time we've split up since all this happened."

"Yeah, I never thought I'd get used to living with Pretty Boy here." Morgan joked.

"You two take care of yourselves." Will said. "I don't want to lose anyone else."

"You haven't lost anyone yet." Penelope said, stepping in to hug him. "You're going to get them back, I'm sure of it."

Morgan looked over at Spencer. "You take care of my baby girl."

Spencer frowned. "I thought she was going to take care of me." He joked.

There was a flurry of movement on the platform, an indication that it was time. Hugs were passed around, just as the conductor called out the traditional "All aboard!" And then Will and Morgan ran with the others to board the train.

Spencer and Penelope stood there, watching and waving as the train pulled out of the station. "Oh my god." She said. "Do you think they'll be all right?"

"I'm sure they will be." Spencer said.

"I hope so." She hugged his arm tight as they turned to go.

* * *

It took five hours for them to get to their next stop. During that time Will got up to stretch his legs with a walk through the train. "Looks like we're all in this car," he as he came back with a bag of lunch. "Snack bar downstairs is free for us."

"Least they're providing." Morgan said as he pulled a sandwich out of the bag.

"I noticed something else." Will said. "Outside of the General and the Colonel we're the oldest ones in this car, by a good ten years at least."

Morgan chuckled at that. "Meaning we're crazy."

"Might be," Will agreed. "But she's my wife, that's my son, I got to try."

"Your wife, my partner," Morgan said. "We'll get them back."

"I do hope so."

Just before they reached their destination Colonel Cain came upstairs to talk to them all. "We'll be spending the night in Ashland." She said. "You'll have liberty but I suggest you don't go drinking, you want a clear head for the morning. Remember, this is still a confidential operation, don't say anything to anyone. Remember to carbo load tonight, you'll need the energy tomorrow. And keep your weapons concealed, this used to be a very liberal enclave in a heavily Brethren area, the locals can get twitchy."

"Great." Will groaned.

They played it safe, took a walk around a charming little downtown, got some dinner at a family style Italian place that was not as good as Rossi's kitchen, went back to their assigned room to watch the soccer game before turning in early. The next morning they joined the others in the nearby coffee shop for breakfast. It looked like, despite being college aged in a college town, everyone took the advice to not get hammered. They all quietly emulated the General and the Colonel's breakfast choices before boarding the bus for their next destination.

Their next destination was a parking lot at the base of the mountains. Once the bus dropped them off the Colonel went to lock the gate behind them. There was a man waiting there for him. He wasn't tall, was as skinny as Spencer, older, with shaggy grey hair and a beard shot through with silver. "All right everyone." The General said. "This is Otter. He's going to be our primary trainer. He's former Air Force Special Ops, you can all learn a lot from him."

"Otter?" Someone asked.

"Yeah. Otter." The scrawny man said. "I haven't used my real name since the internet came on line. Otter works just fine."

"I didn't know the Air Force had a special ops group." Someone else said.

"That's because unlike the Seals and the Rangers we didn't advertise. Our job was to go behind enemy lines and rescue downed pilots, which was not something we wanted anyone to know about. It's also a lot like what you're going to be doing which is why I'm here." He looked over at the Colonel. "Ree, are we going to be teaching them drill and stuff here or at camp."

"Camp," Colonel Nock replied, "less chance of prying eyes there." She and the General were already getting their packs settled."

"All right then." Otter said. He looked back at the group. "I hope you're all ready to hike. Today is an easy one. It's about ten miles and we'll be gaining about four thousand feet of elevation along open trails. Any questions? No? Good. Let's go children."

Will and Morgan looked at each other as they got into their packs. This was not going to be fun.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

**Sunday July 15**

JJ honestly did not know how she managed to hold her tongue for so long.

The nightmare that was her chastisement at the hands of Uncle Jamie was thankfully not repeated. Granted she was taken up each Sunday by each adult male in the family, but none of them made such a big production. For them it seemed that the prayer at the beginning was the main event, they could stretch that out for a good fifteen minutes easily. Then it was over the knee and six quick swats that barely stung and were delivered in seconds before her skirts were back down again. It wasn't the pain, which was over in moments, it was the humiliation of having to bare herself and be debased before each of them. And it didn't leave her feeling contrite, it left her angry. How dare they, really? She had done nothing but try to help around here. And even if she had done something wrong this was no kind of humane punishment. God help them should they ever try it on Henry, they'd know what a real beating felt like.

No, all this punishment did was make her try harder to get away from here. To that end she volunteered to go work with the slaves as much as possible, in the hopes that she could gain their trust and maybe find a way out through them. But after the first few visits her hope started dimming. Uncle Steve had set up a remarkably comfortable set of quarters for them. Far from the dirt floor cabins and cruel overseers of the past he had instead contacted with a professional company which provided prefabricated housing and management systems. The quarters were converted shipping containers, without cooking facilities but each one with its own full bath and set of beds, anywhere from one full and one bunk for a small family to two bunks for single people to up to seven bunks and a full bed for a larger group. They even came with televisions, ones that only showed the Brethren satellite service, but still.

There was also a chow hall which was restocked from a central location each day. It was mostly fast food style meals, fresh fruits and vegetables were in short supply, but most of the slaves explained to her that those were the kinds of things they ate before this all happened so they were pleased with the diet. There was even a nursery and school for looking after the children under ten, considered too young to work. Granted it taught reading, writing, arithmetic and indoctrination but the parents were actually appreciative. It was Christian, they said, and the children were made to behave. They were paddled if they didn't, which was considered an effective way of teaching them their place. Of course before the breakup the public schools were still allowed the paddle, so there was no difference there. The only difference was that they were being taught their Bible, which should help build good moral character, and that any gang problems were entirely eliminated.

None of the adults were ever lashed, they said. No, if you weren't willing to work you were traded off. Probably to someplace much worse than this, so everyone behaved themselves and worked hard. It was simple, they told her, go along and get along.

With work, food, housing, school for their children, clothing to wear, laundry done regularly, medical checkups, and a day off a week they were all disturbingly happy. None of them wanted to risk leaving and ending up somewhere else. This was a good place, they said, not a bad deal for having their debts erased. And in another six years they could go try to find work again.

After a month JJ gave it up. Just going out there depressed her.

On the last Sunday of her punishment she mounted the stairs with quiet resignation. The sooner she got this over with the happier she would be. She'd been extra careful this entire time, always polite, soft voiced, being sure to ask not tell. There wasn't any reason to repeat this cycle, after tonight it would be over and after all this time meet and mild had become a habit. She used the bathroom and left her undies on the laundry hamper and then went to stand by the bed and wait.

It wasn't until the door opened that she realized that it was Michael's night.

Ever since Uncle Steve had announced her punishment she'd become increasingly aware of Michael's attention. Even though he had a wife who adored him and even though she always carefully hid every inch from ankle to elbow to collarbone beneath multiple layers of loose fabric she kept feeling his eyes following her, checking her over in that way men could have. It was disconcerting, even frightening when you considered the rules these days. When he came in her stomach knotted. He could do anything, she realized, and if she fought back they could send Henry away.

Michael looked her over, just once, before he stepped to the restroom. She waited, silent and unmoving as he carefully washed his hands and then returned. "Let us pray." He said. She obediently dropped to his knees and waited through the prayer, her heart pounding. Survive, she thought, do whatever you have to do to survive. Will would understand, she knew that.

The prayer ended and Michael sat on the edge of the bed. It no longer felt awkward to drape herself over someone's knee, to lean on a pillow and let them pin her arms down, to entangle her legs and keep them open and still. But when her skirts came up she shuddered. She jerked and shuddered more when she felt his hand on her there. He's not using a belt, she thought, he wants this to be intimate. "No belt?" She asked quietly.

"I don't think it's needed." He replied. Then he brought his hand down sharply against her skin.

Over and over he repeated this, a sharp slap followed by a touch. It did not surprise her when her body began reacting. It's just nerves, she thought, stimulate them and they react. But Michael saw and focused in on that, shifting his aim to the places that seemed to cause a greater reaction. Finally his wandering fingers touched her just there and she reacted before she could think. "Don't."

"Now you don't get to say that Jenny." He said. "This is your last chastisement. Let's make that clear now."

JJ watched as he reached over and picked up the belt, cracking it against her already sensitive skin harder than anyone had before. She could help the cry that came from her then as the blow burned into her skin.

"Quiet yourself in the pillow." He said, "You don't want to scare the children." And with that the rain of blows began.

She lost count after twenty, lost her control after forty. The blows kept coming down over and over until she was literally screaming into the pillow, trying to squirm away from the pain. I can't, she thought, I can't bear it. Stop, please dear god stop. But it didn't stop. It went on and on and on.

Finally, though, Michael did stop. He put down the belt and for a moment all she felt was the burn of her skin as the blood finally started to settle. Then his fingers found her once more and she gasped in a different way at the sudden shock of pleasure.

That was all though. He set her back on her knees and got up. For a long moment she felt his eyes upon her, and then she heard him walk out and close the door behind him. It took a moment for her to get her balance back; when she did she got to her feet and went to the bathroom to survey the damage. Her backside and the backs of her thighs were striped with red welts, and bruises were already in the offering. But what was more disturbing was the level of arousal she felt. If Will had been here she would have been begging him for attention, begging to mix the pain with pleasure.

At least I never have to do that again, she thought as she quickly washed the tears from her face and tried to cool down. I never have to do that again.

When she went downstairs she felt Michael's eyes on her once again. She immediately went to the kitchen with the other women. It was much safer there.

* * *

.

* * *

Note: I toned this chapter down slightly for the M rating. You can find the full version on my AO3 account.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

**Monday, July 23**

Nobody ever liked moving.

Given that they had so little to actually move, the house having come furnished and all, Spencer and Penelope offered to help others move. Caran and Delia took them up on their offer, not of their houses so much as of their offices. The Monday before moving day found the four of them at the Graduate Student Union, packing boxes of books and files into a military truck destined for the motor pool.

That was how Spencer happened to be there when the mail brought a package to the secretary's desk for Caran. "There's no return address." She said as she looked over the box.

"It was delivered." The carrier said. "Not sent through a service."

"Was the box examined?"

Even before the break-up Caran had been receiving death threats for speaking out against the mover and shakers that were now on the Brethren Counsel. And ever since the breakup terrorists had been a problem. For a while pipe bombs and mysterious powders through the mail to the universities had been popular, and the GTU had received far more than their share. Now they were all screening incoming mail just in case. "Yes Ma'am, x-rayed and chemical sniffed and everything."

"All right." As Spencer watched she gingerly opened the long, thin package. When she did she looked into it and smiled. "Damn."

Spencer and Delia both came to look. It was a cane, with an ebony shaft and a heavily carved sliver grip. But it wasn't until Caran lifted it out that they could see what it was.

It was Death.

Specifically it was the Grim Reaper, complete with death's head and bony hand, his scythe elongated and carved into the palm grip. Caran stood there, leaning against the counter, looking it over, with a look on her face that he could not read.

"Those bastards," Delia breathed.

"Those?" Spencer asked.

"It's from the Brethren Counsel. It must be."

"The Counsel is not this intelligent." Caran said.

"Then who?" Her sister-in-law asked.

"I don't know. But I plan to find out someday." She took the cane in hand and tested her weight against it.

"You cannot tell me you plan to use that thing!" Delia said.

"Indeed I do." Caran looked at her with a mixture of satisfaction and sadness. "Indeed I do."

* * *

**Friday, July 27**

It was an eight hour drive from the Berkley campus to their new base in the mountains. Spencer and Penelope took turns driving the truck, which not only contained their belongings but also her gear. When they got there they had to let themselves into the gate with a pass code. "What's our reasoning behind the gate?" Spencer asked as he waited for it to open.

"Grizzlies," Penelope replied, "also black bears, mountain lions, wolves, coyotes, elk, moose and deer but mostly grizzlies."

"I thought they didn't come this far south."

"Apparently there is one in the woods east of here. They've spotted him a few times. They call him Old Hoss." She grinned at him. "I'm waiting for Morgan to find out."

Spencer chuckled. Morgan hated bears. "So do we want to drop our stuff off first?"

"Yeah, I want to find the houses. OK, so forty-three and forty-seven Cedar Avenue, first left, second block, on the right."

Forty-three and forty-seven Cedar Avenue were two of a line of matching small homes. They were each two story, with comfortable front porches, each with a swing. One was painted a calm, Colonial grey with sedate black and white trim; the other was painted chartreuse and was trimmed in three other bright colors. "That one's yours?" Spencer nodded.

"Ours," Penelope said. "I figured you would stay with Will until JJ and Henry got back and then you could move over with Morgan and me."

"I remember you asking Will about paint, did you ask Morgan?"

"He said to pick what would make me smile."

Ah. That made sense then. "Which one first?" But then he saw what was leaning against the porch and laughed.

"Are those good?" Penelope asked him. "Those are good, right? The one on the end is yours."

Spencer climbed the few steps to have a closer look. There on the porch was a brace of bicycles. The furthest one was a cruiser style built for a woman. It was white, with grey pin striping, and came with both a chain and a skirt guard. "Is that for JJ?" He asked.

"Yeah. Delia said she might want the guards and something not flashy, depending."

Depending on how much psychological damage she had. The next two were clearly a father-son set, painted up to look like military vehicles. "That's adorable." He said,

"I thought so. But we can always trade them in if they don't like them." Penelope said

The remaining one was also a vintage style, but older. It was new, of course, with up-to-date hardware, but the lines and the balloon tires and the olive and sepia colors gave it the air of something from the turn-of-the-last century, something that would not look out of place under a college professor. "Garcia, it's perfect."

"Is it? You love it?" Her grin just kept growing wider.

"I hope I remember how to ride." Spencer said

"Want to try them out before we unload?"

"Sure." He pulled his bike off the porch as she ran to get hers. On her porch was one that had to be Morgan's, all modern and built for performance, and a second woman's cruiser. Only this one was not at all sedate, it was black and decorated with bright rainbow flowers and sugar skulls in a Day of the Dead theme. "That suits you." He said.

"Good, because I love it. Here we go!"

It took a bit of wobbling and a few false starts but pretty soon they were rolling smoothly down the mostly quiet road. He had forgotten how much he missed this, the sense of speed as he rolled down the street, the feel of the air and the sun and all the scents and sounds you could pick up that you never did in a car. As they did the few neighbors who had moved in or were moving in came out to wave and smile and he could feel that this community was close-knit and caring already. We are all here to do good work, he thought, these are all good people. How remarkable is that. "What's down here?" He called out as he turned left at the end of the block.

"Town center, take the next left." Penelope called back.

Spencer turned and turned again. On his right was the high school, according to the signs, and on his left was the nicely sized library. He headed down through the small town, passing offices and shops, until he spotted another rider coming their way. He slowed up and nearly stopped as Ruth Winslow rode by heading back the way they came, her bright curls and ribbon dancing in the breeze. As she went by she smiled and rang the bell of her bike at him and he couldn't help but laugh.

"So what do you think?" Penelope asked as she stopped next to him.

He looked around the town. From here he could see much of it, all of it clean and trim and surrounded by tall, green mountains. He could see them there, safe and happy and able to do good work and heal. And he could still hear the chime of that bell. "I love it, it's perfect!"

"Yes." She grinned at him and rode away.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

**Saturday, July 28**

The bicycles weren't the only treasures in the houses they had. Each house was wired to the hilt, as was the whole town thanks to Penelope having free reign with the tech. Every house came with a wood stove capable of heating the whole building should the power fail. And each house came with whatever large, bulky thing the new inhabitants might want but didn't have and would be hard to move once they locked the town down. In their case each house had come with a piano. Not a fancy one to be sure, a basic sort of classroom model, but in each living room just past the entry closet, under the window, was a perfectly good piano. And in the garage behind Will and JJ's house was a drum kit. "Well, no neighborhood is perfect." One of the neighbors said with good humor when Spencer lifted the door and spotted it there.

"No telescope?" Spencer asked, not at all serious.

"It's up in the fire watch tower." Penelope said, pointing out the window to the structure that overlooked the town from a short distance away. "You weren't the only one who listed astronomy, and it seemed kind of silly to buy a little one for everyone when we could pool resources and buy a bigger one people could share. That and it's good for watching out for fires in the mountains." She went back to unpacking the kitchen.

Spencer looked up at the structure. It was just far enough from town to cut down on the small amount of light pollution. "Cool."

"Yeah, well as head of the science department for the 'school district' you're in charge of keeping track of who's using it which night."

"Do you have a program for it?"

Penelope smiled. "You're lucky I love you."

Spencer looked over the piano again. "No sheet music?"

"Nope. As the Colonel put it, moving bulky stuff in before we locked down made it easier on them but small stuff doesn't affect anything so it might as well be everyone's individual problem. But there is a music shop down in the shopping arcade. They don't sell instruments but they have all the stuff to keep them up, including sheet music. But if you're going, ask in at the fabric and yarn shop, please, I'm expecting an order."

"Okay."

The shopping arcade was downtown, only a couple of blocks away. It was built into the old boarding house building, one of the many old logging camp buildings that gave the town some character. Spencer stopped in at the toy and game shop to pick up a book of crossword puzzles and was pleased to see a selection of jigsaw puzzles and Lego kits. Tucked into the back corner, he did find a small music shop which did have racks of sheet music alongside guitar strings and drumsticks and other sorts of supplies. Purchases made he went into the fabric and yarn shop at the front of the building and stopped dead.

Ruth Winslow looked up from where she was unpacking boxes at a long table. "Hi. Oh, hi," she said, her cheeks turning pink. "Um, can I help you? I'm not quite open yet but if there's something you're looking for…."

"Oh, um." Great, now what should he say? "Actually my friend Penelope…Garcia…she said she had an order."

"Oh, yeah," she looked around at the pile of boxes. "It's here…somewhere. We can look for it, if you want to help."

All of his stuff was unpacked. Will's things were waiting in the master bedroom for him to return. The truck was safely lodged in the motor pool. He didn't formally start work until Monday. He had nothing else to do at the moment. "Sure."

They set to work opening and looking through boxes. "So, you're a knitter?" Spencer asked. It was conversation, he hoped.

"Yes." She said. "And I sew clothes and I quilt and a whole bunch of other things."

"Is that why you came up here?" This box was all full of…he wasn't certain what this box was full of.

"No, I, um…" She turned red and stopped and closed her eyes for a moment. "Okay, Delia said we were going to try really hard to make this a community where victims are seen as victims and accepted and nurtured and people try to understand that women don't have any agency in Brethren households so it's not their fault and that kind of thing, and someone has to start, so…."

"You used to be Brethren." Spencer finished.

Ruth let out the deep breath she had been holding. "Yeah," she admitted, "Until I walked away six years ago."

"Walked away?"

"Yeah. That's a long story. There's a…divorce involved."

Ouch. Spencer winced. "Not really good digging through boxes conversation."

"Not really."

"Six years ago though. So what are you doing now?"

"I'm going for my PhD in Philosophy at Berkley. Trying to make sense of everything, I guess. Psychology seemed too straightforward. Granted, I'm just starting."

"Really?" Okay, now she had his interest. "I was going for mine at Georgetown before everything happened."

"Really? But wait, Delia introduced you as Dr. Reid, and you're not working at the clinic…"

"Yeah, this will actually be my fifth."

Ruth's eyes widened. "Okay, what are my chances of having you for a study buddy?"

Ask, Spencer thought. But he didn't want to seem that eager so he looked around for something he had pulled out of a box. "I actually knit myself one of these at one point." He said as he held up the kit.

"You knit a Dr. Who scarf?" Her eyes widened again. "I'm impressed; those things are soul sucking monsters."

"You know Dr. Who?"

She nodded. "I've been busy for the past six years. And not just with school, I had to learn a whole new culture. That's why I'm here, to help ease other Brethren wives through it so the rest of the country isn't such a shock."

It was a separate culture, he thought. We never realized. "It must have been hard to leave the first time."

"Staying was harder."

Time to lighten the mood again. "Who's your favorite Doctor?'

"The tenth," she laughed as he groaned. "I haven't had a chance to catch up with all the old ones yet."

He looked at her and looked at the yarn and pretended to consider very hard. "I left mine back in DC." He said. "It was pretty good. I admit I was fascinated with the possibilities and enjoyed the process. Help me learn more about it and we can be study buddies."

Her grin lit the room, "Deal."


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

**Saturday, July 28**

Will landed hard on his butt and flopped over to stare up at the cloudless blue sky. It wasn't the confidence course; he had done this kind of thing before. Heck, he had done the one at Quantico with JJ two years ago. But they were a mile over sea level up here, in the bone dry heat of a western summer, where the air was thin and laced with dust. It made everything ten times harder, swear.

No, what made everything harder were the thoughts going through his head. Their days and some nights had been spent working out, growing physically stronger and surer of themselves, and getting their lungs used to the air at this altitude. They had been learning survival skills, how to navigate in the woods, find water, survive without fire. They had practiced hand-to-hand and target shooting and even archery of all things. And they had hiked and hiked and hiked until he thought he could walk forever and not get tired anymore.

But the evenings were killer. There they were learning all about Brethren philosophy and theology, how they thought women and gays and slaves should be treated. And they were reviewing firsthand accounts and intel on how they were being treated. There was a point to it, while Unit One, Section One, now known as the Engineers because they drove the train, were the ones who made first contact, there would be little chance for real communication on the road. And the survivors wouldn't be with the Unit One, Section Two people, the Station Masters, for more than six hours if they did their jobs right. It was them, the Scouts, who would be their first real contact with the outside world, stuck together for the three days it would take them to walk back. And they had to know what they would be dealing with as far as psychological injuries to make that trip work.

Unfortunately this meant that he was getting a first-hand look at the worst of what could be happening to his wife and son. He was quite convinced that Henry was trapped in an orphanage somewhere, without enough to eat or access to a doctor or a safe place to sleep, surrounded by adults who beat him regularly and who couldn't keep their hands to themselves, quite convinced that his father was an evil bastard who'd abandoned him. And JJ was also trapped, either being worked to death or being abused herself, unable to get any help to get away. Just the thought of their hands on her skin made him sick. It was all one long nightmare. I will get them back, he thought, and I will make a good life for them. I swear it.

He had stopped too long. Nimble as a goddammed monkey, Otter dropped down beside him. "Do I have to show you the latest pictures from a Brethren slave facility?" He asked casually

"No, Sir!" Will barked automatically.

"Does that mean you're going to get back on my wall?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Good!" With that Otter ran off.

Will got back up and went back to the line. He would do it. He would get the skills he needed to get his family. He would get the strength to match those mountains. He jumped up, grabbed the rope and started up again.

* * *

Another Saturday, another funeral. JJ stood in the graveyard and held Henry's hand and watched as the last few shovels of dirt fell on top of the coffin. Stupid, she thought. It's all just so stupid.

A week before, Michael's wife Shelly had gone in to labor. After losing all of their children to Diphtheria they had high hopes for this newest little one. But the Brethren did not believe in allowing anyone to attend at childbirth. It was a violation of the marital contract, they said, to allow anyone else to touch your wife's genital region. Besides, only perverts became gynecologists or obstetricians; they only did it so they could look over as many women as possible. Even midwives were all lesbians, unless they were just there to stand by passively and wait for the baby to emerge from under the mother's skirts. And it was a violation of modesty besides, so no decent woman would allow it. No, childbirth was a natural process, with a little instruction a husband could attend just fine. And if the mother was right with the Lord it would all go smoothly.

Apparently Shelly had some shadow on her soul because it had not gone smoothly. From what Michael had said the baby had been in a transverse breech, a birth that required a c-section. But there was none to be had, and the child had probably died on the second day. By the fifth day of her ordeal sepsis had set in, and Doris had quietly ordered the coffin.

For a solid week JJ had regretted not getting the birth control implant when Emily had. But she and Will had been talking back and forth about another one, and she wanted the option without having to go back to the doctor, and she never forgot her pills anyway. It was just that one time, when they had been on that case in Virginia and she'd scraped herself up in the barn and Hotch told her to go get it looked at and they gave her antibiotics just in case, just before she went down to visit Will. The antibiotics had neutralized the pill and the result was Henry, proving that she was just that kind of fertile if given half a chance. So she knew that if she was careful she could keep taking them right up until they wanted to do something else.

But now it had been months since she'd had access. If anything happened not only would she have to face the community's wrath about rape but her chances of dying in childbirth were silly high; something that would leave Henry all alone. Just what I needed, she thought, something else to fear.

But it wasn't her biggest worry. As they turned away from the grave she felt eyes upon her and turned to see Michael watching her go. No, not her biggest worry at all.

* * *

.

* * *

Sorry I've been so slow. House guest, a new cat and a head cold will do that. Daily posting should resume within the week.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

**Friday, August 10, 2018**

It was a good group. Morgan had to admit it was a good group. They were all bonded together like a unit should be, there for each other, brothers and sisters until the end.

Well, except for two. Will looked back at the chattering crowd on the bus and then looked over at him. "You too, huh?"

Morgan laughed. "We're too old for this." There was a fifteen year gap between them and the next oldest Scout. That was too much for him.

Will chuckled right along with him. "Man, you are right about that. I'll tell you, once JJ and Henry are back I'll tell them if they want me to stay and train up some of these kids I will, but I don't know about going out again."

"Are you going to stay once they're back?'

"If this town is a good place for them. If JJ wants to stay. I mean these people are the only ones who've offered to help so far. They're the only ones with a plan. May not work but at least they got a plan going. Now I owe them for the help, but if the plan works, well, you know all enemies foreign and domestic. What about you?"

"All enemies." He took an oath to defend the Constitution and serve the citizens. If this was his best option he was going to take it. "But I have no problem with being a trainer."

"Yeah, let these kids go camp out in the woods. Now here's a question." Will reached up and scratched the growth covering the lower half of his face. "Should I shave?"

"I don't know. Depends on what JJ would think." Morgan rubbed the beard he had going. No one had had the chance to shave the entire time up there. "I know this is coming off as soon as we get to a decent bathroom."

"I honestly do not know."

"Leave it on. It's easier to shave it off if she doesn't like it than to grow it back."

"That's true."

Colonel Nock was stretched out in the seat in front of them, the one right behind the door. They thought she was sleeping, she and the General tended to every time they got on any vehicle. "The men around your wife," she said without opening her eyes, "Beards or clean shaven?"

"Beards," Will said. "It's a thing for them I guess."

"Then shave."

Morgan watched the implications of that come in to Will's eyes before he nodded his head. "Good plan."

The bus slowed, shifted like it hurt, started up for a while, and slowed again. Morgan watched as they left the woods and passed through the main gate, which obligingly shut itself behind them. He didn't pay much attention to what was out the windows past that, he was too busy packing up. "All right people listen up!" The Colonel said, standing to get everyone's attention. "When we get there, go in and get showered and changed. Your key, meal cards and everything else are in your assigned locker. Do not wear your uniform at this time; everyone is in civilian clothes to support your persona until notified otherwise. If you don't have someone waiting your housing assignment will be posted. You all have liberty until 0800 Monday morning when we will gather in the gym. If you have any questions go to city hall and ask. Do not come find me, I will be occupied all week-end."

"With what?" Someone asked, probably before they thought.

"My wife." the Colonel replied with a smile. "No, you don't get the details."

"Thank God." The General said.

"I don't want yours either." His sister-in-law said with a mock shudder. Then she checked an incoming message on her tablet and turned back to the group. "Carlson! Beckman! Be at the training center on Monday at 0500." That got groans from the ones named and their buddies. "System's hot. You two are first up!" The Colonel said.

With that the bus went still.

They finally stopped in front of what looked like an old high school gym from the 1950's. On the inside it still looked like a high school gym, only renovated to give something like privacy. Both of their lockers were in the bank by the door, one clearly set aside for the grown-ups around here, and labeled 'Coach Morgan' and 'Coach Dix'. And each was about two-thirds full. "This has my baby girl written all over it." Morgan said, looking at the toiletry kit.

"Check it out." Will said. He held up what he found in there.

Morgan looked and then looked in his. There was his uniform, pressed to perfection, looking as impressive as it ought. "Feels like the first time they gave you a badge, doesn't it."

"I'll say it does." Will said.

"Hey, are you guys in there?" Said a familiar voice from the door.

They both grinned at each other. "It's the guy's locker room baby girl." Morgan said. "You don't want to come in."

"I know!" Penelope said. "I just want to walk you guys home. Reid is stuck in a meeting until dinner time."

"Let us get showers first Penny." Will said. "We smell like a couple of yaks."

"Take your time, I can run across the street for a few."

They took their time, soaked up enough hot water to rehydrate, and shaved off six weeks of beard growth, Morgan even doing his head. When they were clean enough to pass as high school coaches they finally emerged only to get hugged by a bright colored whirlwind. "Oh my god you're even tighter!" Penelope said as she hugged her best friend.

"I didn't think it was possible." Morgan said. "Where are we going?"

"Come on." Penelope said. "I want to show you the town."


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

**Friday, August 10 **

"We live just around the block from here that way. But if we go a block out of our way and go through town we can stop for take-out at the dining hall. It's Italian night. I doubt the lasagna is as good as Rossi's but we don't have to pay for it."

"Sounds good to me," Will said.

The high school look of the building was maintained throughout. They literally walked out through the front office after saying good night to the almost elderly school secretary. The slowly setting summer sun gave the whole town a golden glow. "Holy man," Morgan said when he first saw it. "It's pretty up here."

"Isn't it?" Penelope said. "Okay, so the town center wraps around the old high school here, which is where they're doing training and what not. The athletic field is actually part of the town park, town square, whatever you want to call it." She linked arms with Morgan and started walking north along the school grounds. "That building across the street is the library and the old caboose next to it is the children's library."

"Henry would love that." Will said as he walked backward a few steps to have a good look.

"I know; it's so sweet! Okay, this is the veterinarian. And across the street from it are the medical offices, the dentist, the eye doctor, the midwives, that sort of thing, which is separate from the clinic which I will point out as we go."

"Separate?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, this is all the specialist stuff, that's the general care. It's like a really, really tiny hospital. It also has the survivor center, housing, therapy rooms, that kind of thing. Okay, now this building…"

"Beekman's Boardinghouse," Morgan read off the sign.

"I know! I love the old buildings. Anyway, these are the small hobby shops, and the tavern which is the grown-ups bar, and that little place that looks like a garage next to it is the bicycle shop. All the way down on the other side are the outdoor store, the hardware store and nursery." When they reached the corner she stopped. "And this is Broad Street. Which is a lot like a main street, only Main Street is back the way we came and strictly residential, so I don't know"

Will looked up and down the street, a slow smile on his face. "Norman Rockwell eat your heart out."

Morgan looked at the shop across the street, "Whistle Stop Emporium?"

"That is apparently a PX." Penelope said. "It carries a little bit of everything. Behind it are the salon and the barbershop. Next to that is the Grocery which I'm told is the commissary. We put in the Grange Hall there, which is kind of a meeting place, theater, events hall. Then there is the bank, the fire department which is a fire department, the Café which is a coffee house, ice cream parlor type place which is not on the meal card, and lastly City Hall, which is the Ops center. And then if you turn left at the far corner you find the outdoor store, the hardware store and nursery, and then if you turn right you reach the Ranger Station which is where they manage the woods around here."

"Wow." Will said.

"Yeah, I know. I never thought that when they put a military base together they actually think of every little detail like this but they do!" Penelope said. "It's just amazing the things they think about. Okay, this way." She turned right and took them to the far corner. "Okay, post office, of course, and down there is the playground and then the laundromat and if you take this road all the way out and then through the bushes you come across McGready's barn which is becoming the hang out for the college kids. I think they're putting a band together."

"Remind me to avoid that." Morgan said.

"Yeah, I know." Penelope agreed. "So gas station across from the post office and this is the meal hall. The Sugar Pine Company Café, the menu is limited but it's covered by the meal cards we all got." They stopped in and collected meals to go, saying hello to people coming in and going out. When they left they kept heading west on Broad, past an outdoor eating area for the meal hall. "This charming building belongs to the cable company, it holds all their equipment. And then this, of course, is the church." It was a perfect church on the corner, white clapboards and spire and all. "Don't let the outside fool you, it's set up inside to hold any kind of service. And that is the clinic." Across from the church sprawled a new medical building next to what looked like a new apartment building. "And that is the school. Grades K-12, since we don't have that many kids, but it says it's K-8." It was kitty corner from the church. "We live about a block and a half that way, just past the school."

"It's perfect." Will said. "Henry could walk it."

"Or ride his bike." Penelope said. "He has one. Oh, but speaking of walking let's keep going."

"Why?" Morgan turned and looked the way she was looking; only to spot Spencer coming out of the clinic complex with that little red head along side. "Is he walking his girl home?"

"Yes, and we are not going to embarrass him about it either." Penelope said, firmly turning him away.

"Aww."

"No. After what happened with Maeve he deserves a chance to be happy. Now let's go home."

* * *

**Saturday August 18**

It was a big day in town.

The past week had been good if quiet. The town settled in to itself. Interest groups formed and sports teams and a band out at the old barn. The library started a classics club and a mystery club and reading time for the children. The local animal shelter came up for the day and had an adoption fair which was well attended. The Grange Hall announced that it would be showing first run movies every Friday. Ruth Winslow posted notice of a knitting night which was well attended. Rev. Cain put up the times for services, and posted notice that she was starting a choir.

Morgan and Will had teased Spencer about his new companion but they were gentle about it, sensing that this quiet woman might be the right fit for their friend. They spent their work days at the training center, working with the younger recruits on how to fight off an attacker. They took their own turns working on skills they still needed to improve. After work it was home to trade off the cooking, or pick-up take-out, to settle in to their houses, to get comfortable in their new lives. At the adoption fair Morgan brought home a dog and Penelope a cat, and Ruth brought home two. And on Friday they started a tradition of a beer and a round of darts at the Tavern with the others in town.

It was the Saturday that mattered though,

The previous Monday Kirsty Carlson and Frank Beckman had met Colonel Nock at the crack of dawn. They had gathered up the packs and gear required for what was about to be done. Then they climbed in to the bit army truck and she had driven them to the footbridge over Big Butte Creek three miles east of town, the very edge of the border. From there they started walking.

Now here it was, five days later. It was a moment they all would remember the rest of their lives. Word was passed around somehow, and by the time the big truck came down Main Street everyone had come out to watch its passing.

As they all watched the truck pulled up in front of the Clinic at the corner of Broad and Pine. Kirsty Carlson and Frank Beckman lowered the back gate and climbed down, their exhaustion clear in every movement. But then they reached up and helped down two women wearing the long, shapeless smocks worn by Brethren slaves, and three small children.

And so it began.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

**Monday, September 03, 2018**

"You know this has all been too easy." Ruth said with a sigh as she placed his mug of tea on the table in front of him.

Spencer looked up from his paperwork. Easy? Since the first family had returned three more had come over the border. Twelve adults and twelve children had been rescued from the enemy on five separate runs. "How is this easy?"

"None of these people have been Brethren." Ruth said. "They're all…Pacifican, I guess."

"So they have friends and families waiting for them." None of them had lingered on the mountain long. They had remained in quarantine for a few days since there were some nasty epidemics going through the Brethren controlled areas, and they had been thoroughly debriefed. But after about a week they had been quietly taken down the mountain and put on a train heading either north or south. When they got to San Francisco or Portland they were met by their families. Simple as that. "That has made our jobs easier."

"Yeah, but it's more than that." She settled into another seat at the table. "They're…part of your culture, I guess."

"So they know what to expect in the kind of urban environments we have."

"Yes." She considered a moment. "No, that's not it either. And it's not as simple as not having even a high-school diploma or not knowing how to handle more than pocket change or about never wearing pants." She cradled her own mug and considered for a moment. "Not long after I moved to Berkley there was a story in the news about a girl somewhere in the south east. We did a little research on it and her family was Brethren, she'd been raised in that culture, but at some point her family fell apart, one thing led to another, and she ended up having to get a job at a local fast food shop. One day they got a call from someone claiming to be the police accusing her of stealing a purse. The manager followed the directions of the caller and stripped searched her and had her wait naked in the back room for three and a half hours. She ended up being assaulted and raped."

Spencer frowned. "That's not standard police procedure."

"Of course it wasn't." Ruth said. "It also wasn't the first time. That was the thirtieth time it happened over about twelve years."

"How come we never heard of it?"

"Because the man doing the calling was a Brethren pastor. He was calling Brethren managers who had hired women from Brethren families that were falling apart."

"So the church covered it up?"

"Yeah. I mean, knowing what they were able to do now that's not a surprise. But it's more than that. This only stopped because at the last store when they got the maintenance man involved, he wasn't Brethren and he called the real cops."

"So it was because it wasn't loyal?" That didn't make much sense.

"No. It was because he wasn't trained to first-time obedience. He hadn't been thoroughly brainwashed into obeying authority and so when it seemed wrong to him he checked into it." She looked down into her mug again. "When I first came here I had never looked at a mad above the knot of his tie, I had never disobeyed an order, I had never thought a matter through for myself until the day I decided to leave. I could have been that girl. Eventually we're going to get women like that in here and children like that in here."

Now it made sense. "They're brainwashed into being victims."

"We can't just turn them loose in San Francisco like that."

"How did you make it through?" For a moment pain shadowed her eyes. "You don't have to tell me."

"No, I… To make a long story short when I decided to leave Peter an online friend hooked me up with a women's shelter, one that worked with women with very violent husbands…"

Spencer nodded. "We worked a case with a woman in that system. You had to stay indoors for two months, had to change your appearance..."

"Yeah." She held up a lock of her hair. "I confess, this is not natural."

"It suits you though." Natural or not, her copper curls were lovely.

"Thanks. The last place in the chain was run by a friend of Delia's. She and Caran have had a survivor support group going for years, they introduced me. I owe them more than I can even consider."

"So somewhere in all of this," He waived at the file cases that lined the room. "is what we need to help those women."

"Yes. And they are going to need a lot more than debriefing and putting them on a train. We've been lucky so far."

"I guess we have." But now Spencer was thinking of something else. He nudged his now empty mug a little closer. "Go get me another cup of tea."

As he watched Ruth picked up the mug and halfway stood up before sitting back down and putting it on the table. "You were not serious." She said.

"I was not serious. It's actually understandable." Habits ingrained in the brain since infancy were nearly impossible to break.

"I'm glad you understand." She turned a little pink around the cheeks. "Delia said I could trust you."

Well that was surprising. "I'd hope so. I'm kinda flattered at that."

"You should be." She looked into her own now empty mug. "I think I want more tea. Would you like some."

"Sure. But, um…have you ever had a man make you tea before?"

"Um, no, never." She actually looked a little shocked at the thought.

Spencer stood up and picked up her mug as well as his own. "Good."


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

**Friday, September 07, 2018**

It was always the smallest mistakes that cost the most dearly.

September was time to fetch up the curriculum from storage. Along with the other mothers JJ took a few days at the beginning of the month and sorted what work had been done the previous year and what wanted doing this year. It all went dutifully in her binder where she kept track of everything now. Sometimes that was the only way she kept track of anything at all.

Henry had been doing stunningly well with his school work. Granted a lot of that was because there was little else to do, he had never really been close to his bullying cousins and he had no opportunity to make other friends. Another large chunk was a way to feel close to his beloved Godfather whom he missed horribly. And part of it was an effort to make his father proud. But regardless of the end reason the result was that they had pulled up the wrong curriculum. He needed the next year's work in a number of subjects.

Everyone was busy though so JJ left Henry in the kitchen, safe with the other mothers, and went down to the cellar to fetch the right box. Later on she would realize that she hadn't even thought; it just seemed like the simplest, most automatic thing. But nothing here was ever simple, and running on automatic always ended up with trouble.

Just as she was opening the box to make sure she had the right one she heard footsteps behind her. "Hey Jenny," Michael said.

JJ spun around. It was natural now, not to look above his collar. "Michael." She said.

He was standing some feet away, leaning against the shelves. The way he looked at her made her skin crawl. "You know, I was talking to Uncle Steve about you the other day."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, see the Bible says that young widows are supposed to be married. But he hasn't found anyone for you, which doesn't make any sense since a woman like you ought to be first in line. Looker like you with a healthy son…and all that." Somehow JJ knew that 'all that' meant what had happened when she was punished. "So I figured he wasn't even trying. Turns out he was right."

"I wouldn't know." JJ said. Women weren't supposed to know about such things. They were traded around with about as much say as the slaves.

"I know. But I asked him about it. Turns out Will didn't want you married off again. Steve said he was respecting his nephew's wishes, a dead man's last wish."

But Will's not dead, JJ thought. And Steve knows I'm still married to him. "I'm grateful for that." She said.

"Are you? 'Cause that's not the way you were acting." JJ dared to flick her eyes up to his face, to see the smirk there. "I just figure you need an excuse."

Just then JJ heard footsteps start down the stairs. Michael did too. He pounced, pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

His lips were cold, she realized, and hard, like they weren't used to kissing at all. He wasn't even trying to make this good. "Let me go!" She screeched at him, twisting her arms to break his hold so she could break his nose for him. It was a panic reaction, one that would have served her ill, but only later would she realize and be grateful that the months of stress and inactivity and poor diet had left her unable to take on a large, strong man like she once had.

It was, of course, far too late. The two women coming down the stairs took one look and screamed, running upstairs to tell everyone what was going on. But JJ had memorized the relevant passages in her bible long ago, she kept putting up a fight, screaming for help, until the other men came down and pulled Michael off of her.

She stood there, shaking as they called for Steve. Michael had a smirk on his face as he reached up to wipe away the blood her nails had drawn. He set me up, she thought, the bastard. But then Steve was there and Doris and she saw the face of her only friend and fear coiled cold within her.

* * *

"Okay, have a look." Spencer said.

He and Ruth were up in the fire watch tower late that night. It was already cold in the mountains, the leaves turning and frost threatening the last of the tomatoes in the gardens. But it didn't matter to them, they had warm things and hot cider and a quilt to bundle under if it was needed. Ruth came out of it now and pressed her eye to the telescope. "Which one is it?"

"That blue dot right in the center. That's Neptune. The closest it gets all year." Spencer couldn't keep the note of wonder out of his voice. "That's the furthest planet out."

"I thought Pluto was the furthest planet out." She said.

"No, it was downgraded to a dwarf planet in 2006."

"I think our science books dated from the 1800's." She said. "It's beautiful."

"Isn't it?" The night sky was one of the great natural beauties. He'd forgotten how it looked so far away from the cities.

"I always learn something new when I'm with you." She said. "It amazes me, every time."

"That you learn things around me? I kind of have that effect on people."

"That you don't treat me like I have a head filled with stuffing, yes."

Well. "It always amazes me that you treat me like an equal." Spencer admitted.

"Why?"

"I think a lot of people treat me like their kid brother. Like they can't quite trust me to react like an adult or something."

Ruth scoffed at that, "Nonsense. You're quite an impressive man. I'd trust you with anything."

That was remarkably flattering. "Would you?"

"Yes." She paused then, pulled back from the eyepiece. "Actually, there has been something I've been debating trusting you with."

"Oh?"

"But I'm afraid if I bring it up it will ruin a perfectly wonderful friendship."

Spencer felt something twinge inside him. "We won't let it."

"We won't?"

"Absolutely not."

She was quiet a long moment. "All right then." And with that she turned and kissed him

Cinnamon, he realized. She smelled like cinnamon and wood smoke and chai and something warm and wild that had to do with her hair and her lips were slightly chapped and impossibly soft and by the time he realized all that it was over. "Wait…"

He could feel her fear now. "Ruined everything?"

In reply he pulled her back and kissed her again. Soft and warm and smoke and spice and her lips parted at the gentle brush of his tongue and let him just taste apple cider and peppermint tea and something that was so very alive. When this one ended she stayed in his arms, and he rested his brow against hers. "Hi." He said softly.

"Hi." She replied, and he felt her smile.

And the universe spun over them.


	44. Chapter 44

_Trigger warning: Implied rape_

* * *

_._

* * *

**Chapter 44**

**Saturday, September 08, 2018**

That it was not the longest night of JJ's life was only by comparison to the ones that came after.

While Steve had been appraised of the incident Doris had pulled her upstairs and told her to stay in the kitchen with her son and pretend that nothing was wrong. She had done so, of course, to the best of her ability, but she couldn't stop her hands from shaking. What had she done? What was going to happen? Were they going to send her away? Would they send Henry away? How would Will or Hotch or anyone ever find them?

Eventually even Henry picked up on something being not right. "Mom, what's going on?" He whispered to her over a lunch she couldn't eat.

"I had a…a fight with Uncle Michael."

"Are you in trouble?"

"I don't know."

All this while the men had been meeting in Steve's study. Thankfully Doris was in there with them, so at least someone ought to be taking her side. Not long after lunch time Pastor Barns and a couple of Elders from the church arrived and were shown into the study as well. JJ promptly slipped into the bathroom and threw up the cups of tea she had been living on all afternoon.

Just as she was coming out Doris found her. "All right, we settled it. Play along now and you and Henry will not be sent away."

A wave of relief washed over JJ when she heard that. "What do I have to do?"

"Come on."

Doris led her over to where Michael was waiting on the porch with Steve and the Pastor. The others were all gathering around to witness whatever was going to happen. Doris let her to stand at Steve's side, and went to gather Henry up in her arms, keeping him still and quiet. Steve turned her so they were both facing Michael. "Michael you are my sister's son, and a part of this family. But Henry is my brother's grandson and the last of his blood here on earth. I want your oath in front of Pastor Barnes that whatever you choose to do with your family in the future Henry will not be sent away as an orphan or a slave. If he's not in your family then he'll be a member of my household. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Michael said.

"And witnessed," Pastor Barnes said. "Shall we begin then?"

"Yes." Steve said.

"Do you have the penalty?" Pastor Barnes asked Michael.

In reply Michael put a handful of small gold coins on the Pastor's open bible. The pastor looked at the pile, nodded, and handed most of them to Steve, keeping a few for himself. "All right then, Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"

It was the strangest wedding JJ had ever heard. No one asked her to say a vow or answer a question or even say I do. Steve stood beside her, his hand heavy on her shoulder and stated her vows for her, answered questions for her, and agreed to the marriage for her. At the appropriate time he picked up her hand, removed her wedding ring, and let Michael slip on a new one. When the Pastor finally said, "I now pronounce you man and wife." He took her by the elbow and guided her two steps forward so Michael could bend down and peck her on the lips.

And the family and slaves cheered for her.

The family and slaves cheered but JJ's eyes were drawn to her son. He was pale and looked shocked and horrified. Doris was holding him tightly, was whispering to him, probably telling him to behave and keep still, this had to happen. For a moment their eyes met and she remembered how excited he had been to be a ring bearer, how he had gotten so nervous when Spence made the ring disappear before the ceremony only to find it in his ear, how he had been so solemn and so proud to be a part of it, and how he had basked in the love of his parents. This was a travesty. This was a nightmare. And he knew it and she saw his eyes go hard with hate. In that moment she wanted to weep for her son.

"Go on upstairs." Steve said. "You seal the deal and we'll get the feast going."

And it was only going to get worse. JJ felt Michael pulling her toward the stairs. She had no choice but to follow. Henry stays here, she thought. If I go along Henry stays here.

In the bedroom he once shared with Shelly and his younger children Michael pulled her down to kneel beside the bed. He began to pray but JJ couldn't hear him. I can't do this, she thought. I cannot go through with this. This is impossible. I want Will. I want my friends. Someone come save me, please!

For once the praying was far too short. "You were very rude to me downstairs." Michael said. "You know you're not supposed to tell a man what to do."

"I…I…yes sir." JJ said.

"Let's take care of that then, and then we can get on with it." He lifted himself to sit on the edge of the bed and took her by the shoulder to pull her over his knee…

* * *

When it was all over JJ rose on shaking legs to go to the bathroom and see the damage. She hurt. She hurt in ways she had not expected. It wasn't just that her ass and thighs were striped with reddening bruises that would be black and blue by morning. It wasn't just the burning pain of what he had done when he had finished with the strap. It was the horrifying ache deep inside her that he hadn't satisfied, that shouldn't have been there at all. What have they done to me? She lowered her skirts, knowing there was no time for the hot shower she desperately wanted, and went to get a cloth to at least wash the tears from her face. But on the way she saw him combing his hair at the dresser mirror. "If I may I'd like to stay with my son at night, sir." She asked. "Please."

"'Course," he said. "Shelly slept with the children back home. Said I snored like a freight train going through. Stay with him for now; keep doing what you're doing. It's working; he's turning into a fine young man."

"For now?" She asked faintly.

"When he starts getting into manhood he ought to move into the bunkhouse with the other boys." Michael said. "That's a little too old to be sleeping with his momma."

Puberty. They still had some time. "All right. Thank you." She went to wash her face but stopped again. "Why me?" She asked. He had done this deliberately after all.

She didn't need to specify, Michael knew. "Because my cousin had a good eye," he said, buttoning his cuffs. "Shelly was never a strong woman. She wasn't strong enough to survive that last birth and her offspring weren't strong enough to survive the sickness. A man needs strong arrows in his quiver, and you are just the woman to give them to me."

Children, she realized, he wants more children. "How do you know?"

That question seemed to surprise him. "Henry." He said. "Boy didn't even get a cough when the sickness went through. Now I'll give you my name and my protection, my money and the covering of my house but taking your age into account I expect at least two or three children in the future. So keep doing what you're doing but when I ask I expect you to come to me. Understood?"

This will happen again, she thought. This will happen again and again until I'm…I'm… But Henry will stay here. "Yes, sir."

"Good girl. Now go clean up, we have to head downstairs. They're waiting to celebrate."

JJ obediently went to wash her face. But when she looked in the mirror she didn't recognize the woman there.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

**Wednesday, September 19, 2018**

"So here's a question." Rian said as Penelope mounted the steps. "Does it count against the Bechdel test if your enemy is male?"

Every Wednesday morning they met here, on Caran's front porch overlooking the schoolyard. The far end of it was anchored by these two immense rocking chairs, each literally carved out of the stump of a massive tree. Caran took one, her bones well cushioned by the pile of pillows and her feet propped on a stool that kept her hips just so. Rian lounged in the other, long, booted legs propped up on the porch rail. Delia preferred an antique style painted that azure blue so popular south of the border. And around them were a cluster of others for everyone else who came. To anyone walking by it looked like a group of friends gathering for coffee and baked goods and to sit and knit and gossip. But in truth it somehow worked out that nearly all of the department heads were women and nearly all of them knit or quilted or something, and so what looked like knitting group was really a very comfortable SitRep meeting.

"What is the Bechdel Test?" asked Ruth. As the local expert on all things knitted she was invited as a technical expert

"The Bechdel test asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man." Penelope said as she sat. "And I don't think it does because it was primarily about women talking about men they were romantically involved with somehow. I think if you're addressing the enemy you're kind of lifting it out of the realm of the Bechdel test."

"Oh good." Rian said with a smile. "Because it seems like they are all we talk about anymore. The UN is having issues in the east. The enemy has taken Fredericksburg."

"What?" That rocked Penelope. "Oh my god, that's like, twenty miles from Quantico."

"Eighteen-point-eight-two miles." Spencer said. He was sitting on the swing with Ruth and working on Dr. Who scarf #2.

"Yeah, like Hotch's old house close to Quantico." Penelope said.

"Which is why every former FBI agent is now at the top of the list." Rian said. "Just to be on the safe side."

"Including JJ?" Spencer asked.

"Yep. Granted she's harder, all the others are either turncoats or slaves, so they're in the slave registry. We've ended up recruiting someone in one of the NGO's to try to contact her for us, so she knows she's got a train ticket."

"Awesome!" Garcia said.

Spencer was grinning. If all went well JJ and Henry would be home before the snow fell.

* * *

**Monday, October 01, 2018**

"It's evil, is what it is." One of the wives said.

JJ had long ago ceased to care what their names were. The wives and the sister-mothers were all pretty much interchangeable. They spouted gossip and propaganda in equal measures and never bothered to try to go beyond those thoughts. With the loss of Facebook and Pinterest and the other social media sites they had nothing that was both new and acceptable to absorb and so they stuck to what they had, the same recipes, the same patterns, the same news over and over again. But JJ found it a comfort now that her world was falling apart. Here in this corner of this porch she was relatively safe. Henry was literally at her feet, learning something new every day, and at her side was her binder and her workbag, one acting as her memory, the other giving her the blessed relief of repetition. She didn't need to think of anything anymore. She just took stitch after stitch and let the words around her fall like rain.

"What is?" Said another as she settled into her chair.

"They're having some kind of medical clinic down at the courthouse. They said everyone has to go get checked out."

"I beg your pardon?" A third said.

"That's what Tripp said when he got home last night. They want to prevent sickness going through if they can so they're checking out everyone. I told him I don't care what they want I won't drop a stitch."

By now they no longer even wore just the sleeveless-dress-over-top combination with a bandanna on the head they had all preferred when she first arrived. Now they were all sitting there with headscarves that draped to the small of the back and big, loose smocks over the dresses. If the layers hadn't been cotton they would have smothered soundly. But JJ didn't care. Given how she felt the voluminous layers were a comfort.

One of the wives came out of the kitchen carrying a large basket piled with the treat of the day. "Apple-pecan scones anyone?" She asked.

JJ felt her stomach clench. Her whole body ached. The pain from the nightly beatings that Michael considered foreplay had become continuous. She was black and blue from her knees to the top of her buttocks all the time now, layers of bruising. Every night she cried now, unable to hold back her tears. And what happened after left her sore and aching inside and out in ways she didn't want to contemplate. But that constant pain was not the only thing that had soured her appetite. The very thought of putting anything else of Theirs inside her body made her feel viciously ill. She had to force herself to eat, and even then she could barely tolerate much. If it wasn't for peppermint tea, she thought.

Henry took one though, and the glass of fresh milk that came with it. "Are you going to have one Mom?" He asked.

JJ looked up and met her son's worried eyes. "No, you go ahead and have mine."

"I thought they were your favorite."

Why was he making her talk? "I'm just not really hungry." Go back to reading, she thought. Go back to acting like your godfather. I just can't… "Go ahead and have mine and finish your history."

For a moment Henry looked like he was going to say something more. "Yes, Mom."

JJ accepted her fresh mug of hot, sweet tea with a smile, not meeting the eyes of the sister-mother who gave it to her. This is my life, she thought as she looked into her workbag, this is my life. I should probably just accept it now.

With that thought she felt something large and heavy move away from a very dark place in her heart. She knew what she had to do.


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

**Monday, October 01, 2018**

"I'm not Shelly." JJ said later, before supper, when she and Michael were alone.

She was on her knees, looking at the skirt of the bed. Michael had just sat on the edge of the mattress. "I beg your pardon?" He said

"I'm not Shelly." She said again. "I…I don't…find release from being spanked like she did."

Michael looked at her a long moment. Then he leaned forward, ran one large hand up the nape of her neck, tightening his fist in her hair and forcing her to meet his eyes. "This is not about release." He said. "This is about reminding you that your place is to submit. A lesson you are clearly still learning." With his eyes locked on hers she could only hear his zipper going down. "You talk too much." He said. "You need to learn what that mouth is for."

* * *

"You didn't eat supper." Henry said later when his mother came to tuck him in.

JJ was still shaking. Her throat was on fire now, on top of everything else. When he had finished with that he had thrown her over his knee and given her a more vicious beating than usual, and then did what he always did, her distress having wakened him once more. After all of that he made her go downstairs without even the chance to brush her teeth. Thankfully Doris's peppermint tea cut the taste of everything. "I wasn't hungry."

"You're never hungry anymore."

"I know. I just…" She couldn't tell him. This was not something a ten year old boy needed to bear.

But he was bearing it. She couldn't keep it away from him, not with as close as they were. She watched as his face crumpled and he threw himself back on the bed, his arm going over his eyes. "I hate them!" He said.

"Henry…"

"I hate them! I hate all of them! All of their dumb, stupid…I hate them!"

"Henry…"

"I wish the General would come and shoot them all and burn this whole place down!"

"Henry….what General?"

"The one the boys keep talking about, the Butcher of the Cascades."

JJ sighed. The Brethren army was not doing well in the west. Every loss was somehow attributed to this super general-monster-Unsub that came out of the woods and slaughtered everyone before the UN even got there. Skirmishes were rare now, the troops were too afraid of having their throats slit as soon as the sun went down. "Henry, you shouldn't think that."

"Why not?"

"Henry…"

"They killed my Dad and I can't do anything about it!"

"Your Dad's not dead."

"How do you know?"

JJ stopped and stared at him. It had been months since they heard anything. Not since last Christmas and it was already coming on fall. How strong was her faith? "I…I…"

"The General is alive, Mom. He's real. And when I'm old enough I'm going to go west and I'm going to join him. I'm going to make them pay for what they're doing to you and what they did to Dad and to everyone!"

This was no childhood fantasy, JJ realized as she looked at the steel in her son's eyes. He's not my innocent boy any more. "Henry, you can't think that way."

"Yes, I can Mom. I think about every day. Every time they tease me about being a Yankee, and….and…"

JJ's stomach coiled in dread. "And?"

She watched as he took a deep breath and another and tightened up his jaw as if he didn't want to say something and make it real. "And every time Uncle Michael takes you upstairs."

JJ's heart sank. He knew. She didn't know how but he knew. "That's not your concern."

"You're my mother. Yes it is." Her met her eyes and he was so sad and so guilt and so full of resolve. "When I'm big enough I'll make him stop for you. I promise. Dad would want me to."

Oh god, she thought. What do I do? What do I do? She could feel the tears start to slip down her cheeks. "That's not your job." She said. "You're supposed to still be a kid."

"I don't want to be." Henry said. "I want to be grown up so I can help you. I hate being a kid."

It wasn't fair, she thought. She had tried so hard to protect him, only to find that she hadn't after all. "I'm sorry." She said finally.

He sat up and burrowed into her arm, all the bravado gone. "Me too."

* * *

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* * *

Note: Posting might be slow for the next few days. We've had a death in the family


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

**Tuesday, October 16, 2018**

"Thank heaven it's a man." One of the wives said.

They had assembled at the St. Tammany Parish fairgrounds for the medical check-ups that the Powers That Be had required. Steve had made a big fuss over having his family there, some kind of proof that they were all playing along with some scheme. JJ had no clue. She wasn't paying any attention any more. All she could do was focus on her son; try to give him the skills he'd need to survive until he was old enough to go west. Or to survive after she was gone. At this point she felt half gone already.

"Why is it better if it's a man?" One of the sister-mothers asked. "I would think a woman would be more modest."

"Oh no. Remember what happened to Ruth Ann Arnet. She went to the hospital one time; saw a woman doctor, next thing you know she's running off to San Francisco." All the older women nodded as if to say 'you know what that means; don't you?'

"Why did she go to the doctor in the first place?" The sister-mother asked.

"I have no clue. She should have put her faith in the Lord, but then she always had a bitter heart. Treated her husband hard as stone she did. And the Lord knew she wasn't a good Christian woman, all those years and not one child." The wives tisked in unison.

JJ let the words patter around her like rain. Ruth Ann, whoever she was, was one of a number of tales the wives repeated to reinforce their sense of moral superiority. All JJ could do was envy the women who made it out. They were walking free now while she had to…

"Whaley Family!" The Nursing Sister called out.

JJ tucked her knitting back in her bag and stood, following Michael and pushing Henry between them, careful not to look up at anyone or anything. When they entered the curtained off room she blanked out while Michael spoke to the doctor. She really wanted to be home right now, tucked into her safe corner. She didn't need more before tonight; with all this it would probably be worse.

"Your turn Jenny," Michael said.

JJ went and obediently sat on the stool set aside for the exam. She kept her eyes cast down while they took her blood pressure and her temperature, and while they unbuttoned the back of her smock and snaked in a stethoscope. "Breathe in." The doctor said. "Breathe out." She breathed as bidden.

Then the doctor tapped her lightly on the chin. "Look up please and say ahhh."

"Ahhh." As the tongue depressor hit the back of her throat JJ looked up into the doctor's face.

Her heart stopped.

It was James Blake, Alex Blake's husband.

"Throat looks good." He said as he met and held her eyes for a long moment. Yes, he seemed to be saying, it's me. "Check the nodes here." He gently felt around her neck, causing her to want to weep at the gentle, safe touch. "Okay, now for the eyes. Look right here please." He pointed to a silly plastic sunflower he was wearing as a tie tack. JJ looked at it and realized she was looking at a tiny camera. Oh god. "Ears next." He went on through a basic check-up, Michael just at the end of the table, not giving anything away. "Okay, let me check your pulse once more." He picked up her hand, pressing the fingers of his other against her wrist. But as he lightly held her hand still she could feel the folded paper in his palm.

When he stopped the paper was in hers.

"You look reasonably healthy." James said with a smile. "Who's next?"

"Henry here is." Michael said.

JJ slid off the stool and let Henry take her place. James looked him over with an easy smile, telling him to look at the sunflower when it was time to check his eyes. Please let them tell Will, she thought, or Hotch, or someone. Let them tell them we're still alive out here.

"All right. Thank you very much." James said.

"Thank you Doctor." Michael said. He nodded for JJ and Henry to walk out of the tent area.

As they left Henry turned to JJ. "Mom? Who was that?"

Henry had only met James once, at one of Rossi's holiday parties years ago. "That was just a doctor sweetie." She said, squeezing his shoulder to get him to stop. "No one we know."

But as they got into the van to head home JJ turned and found James following her movements. For a moment their eyes met and she thought of the paper now in her pocket. Don't give up, she thought. Don't give up.

* * *

"How do they look?" Colonel Nock asked.

"Not bad." James Blake replied over the uplink.

"I need you to be more specific."

"Henry is physically in top shape. He's in the eighty-fifth percentile for his age, he doesn't show any signs of malnutrition or illness, and barring some anger at his step-father his general attitude seems to be good. JJ's not as well off. There's no sign of illness but she looks almost frail. I couldn't get an accurate weight on her but she looks like she hasn't been eating and probably not sleeping either. And she looks like she's been under a strain. But none of that is unexpected. It would be helpful if I knew what you were evaluating them for."

"Sorry Doctor. We can't share."

"All right. I'm sending a DataSquirt of my notes and the video now."

"Thank you Doctor."

"Tell everyone we said hello."

"Will do," Rian ended the video call and turned to the office minion who was on the call. "Get that over to the clinic and get it evaluated." She said.

"Yes, Ma'am," the office minion stopped for a moment, "Um. Ma'am?"

"Yes?"

"Um, didn't Dr. Blake just say that the boy was angry at his step-father?"

"That's what I heard."

"I thought Agent Jareau was married to Dix."

Rian looked up at him. "That stays in this office."

"But…"

"Our job is to get them here. What happens after that is up to the clinical people. And what Agent Jareau tells her family and when is her business. I expect you to show her that respect. Understand?"

"Yes. Ma'am."

"I just need to know that Agent Jareau and her son can make it over our mountain."


End file.
